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Red

"Thanks, Cap," Aaron sighed as I handed him back his head. He drummed his fingers awkwardly along the cardboard as I stood smirking at him. "I know, dude. Don't rub it in."

I threw up my paws defensively. "No, no - I didn't say anything."

He rolled his brown eyes and ruffled his spiky hair; the black strands were sticky with sweat. "You don't have to. This is humiliating." His bushy, flaming tail went limp as he stuck his head under his arm.

We started walking. I didn't like the idea of leaving Sasha, and each step away from him seemed to put a strain on my conscious like pulling a rubber band to taut. Aaron was upset, though, and - even though he could be childish and immature at times - he was still a friend and a teammate.

"What's up, then?" I asked. "Why are you wearing that...thing?"

He sagged and shook his head. "It's kind of a tradition."

"A tradition?" I asked skeptically. "For what?"

"For sucking, that's what," he seethed.

I took a wider step and stopped in front of him. He frowned even harder as he almost ran into me, but I didn't care. Even though he hadn't explained what he meant yet I think I knew what he was talking about. I'd seen hazing done before, but I'd never experienced it myself. I'm guessing this garish costume was reserved for Emerald Bluff football players who didn't perform up to a certain standard during games. Aaron was a decent wide receiver, he really was, but his performance has been lacking lately as his ankle - the one he'd broken before after an overpowered tackle in an early practice - has been getting aggravated and giving out on him. Although I missed the game Friday I listened to it over the radio while at Sasha's, and Aaron was the first one put on the bench. Coach Corbin's been breathing down his neck all season, and every game, every practice, I could tell the fox was pushing himself too hard just to try and please the Doberman. I guess he hadn't done so yet.

I was seriously pissed at this. I'd faced being ridiculed and abused by teammates before - something that shouldn't even occur in the first place - and I thought that perhaps I'd left it behind in Athens. Boy was I wrong. Aaron was clearly put down, and I would've been too, but he wasn't going to improve under standards such as this. He'd probably end up hurting himself even more.

"Take that thing off," I ordered.

He'd been looking down at the ground, and at my heated command his eyes immediately popped up to look me in the face. "Wh...what?"

"You heard me." I said crossing my arms. "Take it off."

His muzzle twitched into a smile for a second before collapsing into a worried frown, and he flicked his head around nervously. "But, dude, I'm not supposed to! The guys are here, and they told me I had to keep it on all night or..."

Now I was blisteringly mad. "Or what?"

His ears drooped and he took a step away from me. I tried to calm myself down, but that didn't seem to calm him by any means.

I sighed and rubbed my temple. "Aaron, if I'd known about this I would've put a stop to it right off of the bat. It's idiotic, and it doesn't do jack-shit but make a fool out of you..."

"That's kind of the point, Captain," a familiar and irritating voice growled from behind me.

I bared my teeth behind my lips and turned to find Ford, in full football gear, looming over me with Trip at his left shoulder. As most bear furs were, he was rather large. Still, he was only a few inches taller than me, but he probably had a good 50-60 pounds more than I carried. He always used his girth to intimidate, be it in school or the field, and I'm sure he was accustom to most that he confronted backing down almost at once when he puffed himself up. I wasn't that type of guy, though.

"What's with the mobster getup?" he asked obnoxiously, flicking the rose pinned to the breast of my vest and causing a petal to flutter off and to the ground. He sneered. "Oh, that's right; you wouldn't have known seeing as you're new and since you missed the last game."

"Known what?" I said trying to remain civil. He's always been one to push all of my buttons, and he knew it, too. I didn't give a damn if he didn't like me, though. His attitude...ugh!

Trip was in full gear as well, but he didn't fall in with Ford at being a total asshole which I appreciated. The bear didn't though.

"The team always wears their gear at the Haunt," the tiger said gingerly. He sulked as Ford leered sideways at him. "It...it's a tradition, too."

"Well," I huffed. "That tradition is fine by me, and I apologize for not knowing, but this one?" My tail curled up my back as I jabbed a finger toward Aaron hiding behind me. "This one's done, and I never want to see or hear of anything like it happening again." I stood tall and straight and looked Ford right in the eye. He faltered a bit, but he remained where he was. "We're a team, dammit, and treating your teammates like crap doesn't help to improve anything." I turned around, and Aaron flinched as I snatched the box/head from him, dropped it to the ground with a soft plunk, and then stomped down hard on it and crushed it in. The fox watched, somewhat in shock, as I crushed the thing flat, and then he grinned up at me and yanked the rest of the costume off.

Ford had turned beat-red beneath his dirty-brown fur at having Aaron's humiliation ruined. "Y...you can't do that! We've done this since freshman year!"

"Oh," I said, stilling my expression. "And let me guess, it was your idea?"

"Damn straight! Who do you think you are!?"

"I'm. Your. Captain!" I snarled. The crowd of furs that had been parting to go around all of us seemed to pause and eye the two of us warily. We'd caught the attention of two cops as well, and the uniformed hare's ears were aimed right at us. His wolverine partner began to take a step in our direction, but I didn't intend to let the situation get out of hand. I let my gaze burn down on Ford, but he glared right back at me. "I know what shit like this can end up doing, and I'm not going to let it happen on this team - do you understand me?"

The bear bared his fangs at me, and I couldn't help but let a growl rumble from my chest. "You're nothing but talk, dog; always have been."

"I beg to differ," I hissed, yanking off my fedora and parting my hair where the huge scar from my motorcycle accident - the accident caused by my old teammates - could be clearly seen. That seemed to take them all by surprise, and I heard gasps escape from Trip and Aaron as they stared. Once they'd taken it in I dropped my hair and gently sat my hat back on my head. I stared icily at Ford. I'd shaken him. "I had my head flayed open, nearly bled to death, spent a week in the hospital, and then nearly bled to death again - all because of my old teammates." Ford snuffed and looked away from me. "We're supposed to work together, not make one another miserable. We won't thrive as a team if we're bringing ourselves down from the inside."

"Thank you," Aaron chimed in.

Trip grinned sheepishly from behind Ford, and the bear just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. He turned as if to walk away, but he paused and frowned at me. "You talk about not bringing the team down from the inside, and yet - as our captain - you miss a game. And for what?" His broad muzzle parted into an obnoxious smirk. "Personal matters."

My fur and skin tingled as a wave of angry electricity passed over me, and I just stared at him.

He'd gotten one over on me, and he realized it and puffed himself up again. He took a step forward, and I held my breath and gritted my teeth as he leaned in close and whispered in my ear. His breath was sticky and hot like a miserable day in the dead of summer. "Talk all you want, Cap, but I'm not stupid. I saw you on the track with that femboy fox. I saw him leave with you that day after the pep rally. He lies out of school and you sulk around like it's the end of the world..."

Rage was slowly bubbling up in me. And he'd gone off about me being nothing but talk? He was not going to bring Sasha into this. If he didn't watch his mouth he was going to lose some teeth. The two cops who'd been watching the whole time had stepped closer as if expecting something, and I guess I had lost control of the situation. I just hoped I didn't lose control of myself.

Ford pulled back and sneered. "You seem to know an awful lot. It's a little stalker-ish," I said. A thought crossed my mind: The bear had made it to the game fifteen minutes late the night Sasha was attacked. Could he have? I watched him carefully. "And I'm flattered that you're watching me so intently - really I am - did you happen to see when we got back, too? Were you hiding in the woods somewhere?" I tried to make the questions sound like a personal jab to make fun of him. If he overreacted...

"You dick!" He latched onto my jacket and yanked me up.

Whoops. That's not the kind of overreaction I'd hoped for. He snarled at me and I snarled at him, and then...

"Hey!"

I warily looked away from him to see Lee rushing towards us. Sasha was right behind him, a concerned and frightened look on his face at the sight of Ford and me.

Ford flicked his eyes toward them. "Oh, look; Your 'personal matter' is here." He then sneered and let me go, and Lee stepped between the two of us. Ford eyed the sword that the Shepherd had partially drawn, and he knew just as well as I did that - if push came to shove - he'd draw it. Lee had a medieval sense of justice and reasoning when a sword was strapped to his waist, and he figured it would end a fight quicker than a few fists. Luckily it did. "Easy, Musketeer," Ford growled. He then turned to Trip and bobbed his head in the direction away from us, flashed a snide glance back at me, and then tromped off. The tiger didn't look very willing to go, but - in the end - he smiled apologetically at me, and I smiled back as he followed after the bear.

"What was that about?" Lee bristled.

Sasha put his paw on my shoulder, his ears drooping. "Everything okay?"

Aaron perked up and slapped me on the back. Sasha frowned and started to growl, but the red fox's happiness made him see he meant well. "He was just standing up for me - that's all." He shifted awkwardly as I grinned at him, my heart beat slowing to its regular rhythm again. "Thanks, bro, for...for doing that. I really appreciate it." His grin became sheepish.

"It's no problem, Aaron," I sighed. "Tell me if he gives you anymore trouble, okay?"

He nodded, smiled, and waved to the three of us before heading off onto the festival.

Sasha nudged me playfully as we walked around, and I'd relax a little more each time. Lee was still defensive after what happened, and he'd calm down and loosen up a little as time went on, but then something would make him put his guard back up and he'd behave like someone was about to leap out and attack us. It occurred especially when Sasha would wander off or go a short distance away without us. He was behaving like a paranoid body guard.

"Dude," I chuckled. "Please relax. You're wearing me out."

We'd stopped at a food booth, and Sasha was in the process of getting us ice cream. Lee flashed a glance at him and then looked at me, and I grinned like a goof and stuck out my tongue in the hopes that being a spaz would lighten him up. He rolled his eyes and chuckled to my utmost relief.

"Tadaa!" Sasha sang, prancing up as well as a zombie could manage with three ice cream cones. They were the utterly delicious kind that were dipped in that chocolate that forms a crunchy shell, and he didn't waste time in handing one to Lee and I. The fox grinned at us. "The vendor says there's something special inside of these." His grey eyes bugged. As did mine and Lee's as we stared at the cones. "I don't know what, though. She wouldn't tell me."

"One way to find out," I said giddily, taking a savory bite. My tongue was flooded with the sweet, sweet taste of chocolate and vanilla, but then there was something else. My eyes rolled up in the back of my head, and Lee and Sasha watched me anxiously. "Oh my God," I mumbled with a mouthful. "It's jam." I swallowed and smacked my lips, tilting my cone down to where you could see the middle of the swirl of vanilla injected with jelly. "Mine's strawberry."

"Ooooooh," Sasha said wonderingly. He took a bite, and red jam gushed out and stuck to his muzzle. He moaned and licked it clean. "Cherry!"

Lee eyed his cone apprehensively, and then he smirked and took a bite. His eyes bugged for a moment through his mask, but then he moaned as well and swallowed, a grin slipping across his face as his tail began to wag. "Blueberry; I love blueberry."

We all laughed and began walking around again, the mood successfully light and cheerful as it should have been. Sasha kept brushing up against me, and I kept getting the urge to do...something. I hate to say it, but I was a bit anxious to. What Ford had said had shaken me. He'd seen Sasha and I together, and the way he'd told me was more of a "hey, I'm possibly going to use this to get back at you later" manner. And I didn't get the answer from him that I'd hoped to, either. What if he had seen us come back? What if it was him who'd hurt Sasha? What if me being with him was putting him in danger?

His light touch brushed against my paw dangling at my side. His fingertips were still cold from holding his ice cream. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, and I just knew he was expecting something. Why didn't he just grab my paw? We'd walked hand in hand from the car, but both of us were overtaken by a sort of mutual reaction when we got near a crowd and had let go. I hadn't liked that feeling, but I was still worried about what others might think. I was also worried that it was hurting Sasha for me to treat him as just a friend. He wasn't after all; he was my boyfriend.

Fuck it. We were together, so we should act like it.

I grabbed his paw and saw him smile, and he gripped my hand tight and rested his head on my shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Thank you," I said. I blushed as I pecked him on the cheek, and I didn't give a damn if anyone saw me do it.

Crowley

"Randall, what's your 10-20? - over." I spoke into my two-way hidden under the cloth on my shoulder.

I'd been checking in with all of the on-duty officers to see if they'd come across anything, had general trouble, and to - most importantly - see if they'd smelled what I'd smelled. I was on the verge of crisis because of it.

"On the path toward the stage - over," He replied.

"10-4, Randall. You smelling him, too? - over."

"Yes, sir. There's a scent trail clear through the woods - over."

Damn it all. There, too? What the hell was going on?! This guy's scent was - literally - everywhere around and in the festival area. It didn't make a damn lick of sense. He would have to be in multiple places at once as, when the officers began to smell him, they all radioed in from all over and at the same time. It was blowing our minds, and - as a cop - that was seriously ticking me off. It was ticking the other officers off too, as they'd follow the trail expecting to run into trouble, but instead they'd just find kids in costume. It was odd, however, that all of the youngsters that carried the scent were dressed as football players.

"10-4; All officers stay vigilant and keep frequent contact - over."

I sighed and pulled my Oni mask back down, and then I sat on a bale of hay and watched from the shadows as Sasha, and Rudy and Lee Hawthorne - who he'd been with for the past few hours - stopped to get ice cream cones. It was good that they were getting to relax at least. No one had tried to pull anything, and the only trouble so far was when one of Rudy's teammates was heckling him and another boy. It didn't progress into anything, and there were two officers observing the whole time - plus me - but it was close. The bear and tiger were two of the football players that carried the scent, too, and the bear seemed...intent on something. I'd marked him as a possible suspect for questioning.

I looked up to see the kids walking off. Lee paused, however, and walked off to the side to pull out his phone. He did something - texting probably - and then rejoined Rudy and Sasha. They then walked off, and I pushed myself up and waded into the crowd to follow them. I always kept as much distance between me and them as I could.

I got a few suspicious looking glances from the costumed civilians as I went about, but that didn't bother me. I thought my costume would be subtle, and it had been so far as sneaking around was concerned, but it was also kind of scary looking. The fact that I never said anything to anyone unnerved folks more than the getup, though.

I paused as the perpetrator's scent crossed my path again; yet another football player. I began walking, but I paused again as my phone began to ring. I yanked it out of a pocket hidden on my costume to see that it was Conall.

"Crowley," I answered.

"We have a problem," he gasped exasperatedly.

I couldn't help but laugh. "No shit." A pair of lumberjacks glanced at me due to my outburst. "Hold on a second." I marked the direction the kids were going, and then I left the crowd to walk behind the tents where I could hear and where I wouldn't draw attention. "What's the situation?"

"Lee just texted me," he said. "He'd come to me earlier, really flustered about something, but Sasha was here and he couldn't say what it was."

Okay. "Well?"

I heard him suck in a breath. "He thinks the guy has Sasha's phone. Someone called him on it, but it wasn't Sasha. He said the fox hasn't been able to find it since he was attacked, and..." He paused.

I'd caught up to the kids from walking outside the festival area, and I watched as they met up with another group: a rabbit, a lynx, and a few others. Two of the others were once possible suspects from Sasha's track team that I'd interviewed the day after I arrived. They hadn't had any idea about what had happened, and they were sincerely concerned for the fox's well-being. It hadn't been them. I had no doubts about that.

Conall still hadn't said anything. "And? You still there?"

"Yeah," he stammered. "It's just what the guy said..."

"What was it?"

I heard him gulp. "He'd...he'd been watching Lee practice at the stage. He thinks he was in the woods and heard him, and he called and repeated the lyrics of the song he'd been singing."

The scent trail through the forest made more sense then. "He was there. An officer picked up his scent through the woods and across the trail." I pondered out loud. "Why would the guy do that, though? Call Lee? What purpose does that serve?"

"Well," Conall sighed. "It's the lyrics that he repeated that have me scared more than anything."

"What were they?"

He told me, and I had to agree; it scared me a little, too.

However, something didn't fit right at all. Why would Sasha's attacker be stalking Lee? What could he possibly be thinking? What could he possibly hope to gain by frightening Lee and revealing that he had taken Sasha's cell phone, thereby knowing that we'd be informed of it? It was no secret that he knew we were here to nab him; otherwise he wouldn't have planted his scent all over the area via football player as a means to confuse us and keep us off of his trail. What was he attempting to do? Why did he want us to know he was here and up to something?

"Dammit," I hissed. "I'm completely baffled here."

Sasha was in the means of consoling the rabbit girl that had shown up, as she was breaking down; I could see the harlequin mask-style face makeup she had on streaking from tears. Wonder woman had been standing nearby with her back turned, and she swirled around at the sound of the sobbing, noticed Sasha, and almost began to cry herself. It was Mindy his track coach. She embraced him in a rib-cracking hug as I guess she hadn't seen him since he was attacked. He hadn't been at school, after all.

Something about seeing the she-wolf flicked a switch in my head, but I wasn't sure what it meant. "Mindy," I thought out loud.

"Mindy?" Conall replied in both worry surprise. "What about Mindy?"

Indeed, I thought, forcing the cogs in my head to turn a little faster.

"Well, shit on a stick," I rasped. "It had been on her, too."

Conall was almost distraught. "What had? What had been on her? What're you talking about?"

I had completely forgotten because of all of the worry and time put into getting things together here. How stupid was I? It had been right in front of my eyes this whole time, or - rather - it had been right before my nose. "The scent," I said. "The scent was on her when I met you two at the lake the other day. It was faint, and I thought it may have been from the sample in my pocket, but..." I sniffed, my nostrils flaring, and, "Yep; it's still on her. Stronger now, too."

"What!?" he gasped. I had to yank the phone clear of my ear as he began to practically yell. "You're not thinking that it was her are you!?"

"No! Calm down!" I told him about the scent being tagged onto the football players, and my suspicions resonated with him, too. "You did say that her boyfriend was the football coach, right?"

He sounded grave when he spoke. "Yes, but...that doesn't make sense. As much as despise Corbin, I can't think of a reason as to why he would attack Sasha."

"Me neither."

"Unless," he whispered.

"Unless what, Conall? If you have any information that you haven't told me that could help prevent Sasha from getting hurt again then you need to tell me!"

He sighed and told me about Corbin and Mindy's somewhat unhealthy and competitive relationship as coaches, and made sure to tell me about the means the two would go through to win. I would've hated to be those kids.

"It's just that it wouldn't surprise me if he did this in an attempt to get Mindy back," he said. "Sasha's pretty much her best athlete, and he's won them many a track meet over the years."

"That's a bit psychotic," I admitted. "But he sounds a bit extreme from what you said." The connection made sense I guess. It was kind of farfetched, but - if you were alright with pushing your athletes to the point of physical harm - I suppose harming them yourself to ensure a victory wouldn't have been a problem. Still, Conall seemed reluctant to tell me something. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"N...no," he stammered.

I could tell he was lying even through the phone, but I didn't have time to interrogate him. "Conall, I'm serious, if there's something you're not telling me - for whatever reason - than it could very well come back to hurt you."

"Are you threatening me?" he asked shrilly.

I shook my head even though he couldn't tell, and I watched Sasha's enlarged group head toward the trees off in the distance. I checked the time on my phone screen; the band was about to start performing. They were going toward the path leading to the stage. I could hear the "Tempered Revelers" warming up even now. "No, Conall, I'm not threatening you, but someone is threatening these kids, and if something you're hiding from me causes one of them to get hurt then you will be held accountable for it. Do you understand me?"

"Y...yes."

"And is there something you wish to say?"

He paused for a long time, but I wasn't satisfied when he finally replied.

"No."

I let out the breath I'd been holding while waiting for him to answer. "For Sasha's sake I hope you're telling the truth. This guy - whoever he is - is planning something. For what purpose it doesn't matter." Conall sighed worriedly from the other line. "But if we don't catch him, someone's going to get hurt."

Sasha

It turns out that - even though they'd been interrogated - my teammates weren't upset with me at all. In fact, all of them left the police station afterward without further suspicion, and they were more worried about what had happened to me than about the fact that I'd given their names to the cops. They'd even kept what happened to me within our circle and hadn't let it spread around the school, and Tori - beloved little Tori - had even managed to keep her mouth shut about it.

I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I didn't mind the fact that my rabbit friend hadn't let me go once since we ran across her, Trevor, and Spencer and Roy who'd been two of my friends that had gotten interrogated. I had no reason to be upset at the moment. Nothing had gone wrong. My biggest fear of being attacked again seemed more and more distant and impossible, I had my closest friends with me and we were having a great time, and - like Tori - Red hadn't let go of me for a while either.

Nothing could have outshone my joy at the moment. Well, if Red had meant what he'd said on the way to the Haunt, I still had a surprise waiting for me. What it was I still hadn't figured out, but since we'd gotten to the clearing before the stage and found a spot to spread out a blanket and watch, he'd become vivaciously giddy with excitement.

My parents finally called to check up on me before the show started, saying they had arrived and found a spot toward the right of us to watch from. I looked around and spotted my mother whipping out an old quilt to sit on, and I waved to my father standing off beside her and swatting the dry grass out of his face that the quilt was kicking up. I even spotted Luther and Tanya amongst the gathering crowd and waved to them, too.

My folks weren't into dressing up anymore, but Red's fun-loving parents weren't ashamed at all. Luther was a wounded soldier, from what I could tell, and in costume, not just literally. He had on an old uniform that he'd cut holes in and tied gauze around, and he'd bandaged his leg-stumps, a thick band of bloodied gauze also wrapped around his head and covering up an eye. Tanya was - undoubtedly - his nurse, as she had on one of the older medical uniforms from the WWII era, with the white cotton dress, stockings, and the cute little nurse's cap. It made my heart melt to see how adorable they were together.

The band began to play right on schedule, and from the get-go they were fantastic. They did a little bit of everything: Rock, Alternative, Pop, and even some folk. Lee said that all of the songs they'd written themselves, and - for the first time that night - he actually let loose, thoroughly enjoying the music more than most. He even sang along to some of the songs. They rocked out and really interacted with the crowd, and many times we'd find ourselves on our feet with our cell phones swaying in the air. I told myself that I had to get one of their CD's when the show was over.

When they did end, though, Clint - the bassist and founder - thanked everyone for being such a great crowd, and instead of walking off all of the members walked a little further back onto the stage and sat on some monitors.

Conall's voice then boomed out of the speakers, and everyone - I mean everyone - burst out laughing when he walked out on stage.

He hadn't lied to me when he said everything that stuck to his rack was going to be his, because he had quite a menagerie of head-accessories hanging from each and every point. He rolled his eyes and laughed playfully along with us, shaking his head and making hats bob about.

"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled. "And, just so you know, I totally planned this entire costume out." Laughter abounded. "Seriously, it took weeks. But, anyway..." The spotlights suddenly flared bright white and swirled around the stage, and the theme song for American idol started to play. "I hope you've had a wonderful night so far, and I welcome you to the Haunt's Terror-iffic Talent show!" There were whoops and hollers, and the ground practically vibrated with the crowd's enthusiasm. "We've got some very, very talented performers here tonight folks, and our fine panel of judges will no doubt have a tough time deciding who goes home with 1st place."

He flourished off to the left, losing a hat in the process, as the four acting as judges paced out waving and smiling before taking a seat at a table set up on the ground before the stage. Our horse principal Mr. Rutledge was one, one of the police officers - a female German shepherd - was another, then there was Mindy, and finally there was Corbin the football coach. Conall seemed a bit taken aback by the Doberman, and the female officer kept a decisive eye on him at all times for some reason. I hadn't seen him at all during the festival, but that was alright. I couldn't stand him in the first place. He was Mindy's boyfriend, but he was also an abusive asshole, and I'd had to console my coach once after he had roughed her up. He turned around and pompously waved to the crowd, and all of the football players - from all over - let out another whoop and bellowed "GO, KNIGHTS!" I was surprised when Red and Lee hadn't yelled too, but I turned to see that the both of them had disappeared. I hadn't even felt Red let go of my paw.

I looked to Tori and asked if she knew where'd they'd gone, but she just shrugged. I felt lonely without my husky to hold onto, so I scooted closer to the harlequin rabbit and she leaned against me. Where could he have gone? And Lee, too? Something smelled fishy, and I began to wonder if I was about to find out what my surprise was. With both of them gone, though, I began to worry. The night had been wonderful and Lee hadn't shown any malice toward Red or me for the two of us being together, but I was still worried about him. The two of them being alone with one another just...scared me. I didn't want anything to come between them. I didn't want to come between them.

As everyone watched the show we came to the conclusion that the performances were lined up from worst to best, as each new performer was progressively better than the last. The judges had a terrible time at the beginning, and they were as forgiving as they could be, giving scores that weren't deserved. Well, except for Corbin. He was the Simon Cowell of the four. Anyway, some performers danced, some sang, and some juggled flaming torches that nearly caught the stage on fire. A hyena with purple hair performed a much enjoyed comedy routine that left my sides aching, and a lanky opossum read an uplifting beat-poem he'd written that left everyone snapping their fingers and wiping their eyes.

Conall then reappeared, and the judges awarded the opossum - Darrell was his name - nines across the board. Corbin surprised everyone with that one. My big brother eyed him strangely, but then he congratulated Darrell and wished him good luck.

"Now!" he bellowed excitedly. "Now come our final two acts, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that you will all be blown away. Please give a round of applause for Rudy Kendrick and Lee Hawthorne!"

WHAT!? I screamed internally. My heart immediately skipped a bit and then started pumping at the speed of sound. I was so taken aback that I collapsed onto Tori as I watched the two of them - the gangster and the Dread pirate - walk out on stage. She beamed at me and mouthed "OH MY GOD!" and I couldn't agree with her more. What the hell was about to happen? I laughed a little out of shock and heard Luther and Tanya screaming over the clapping and yelling of other furs, and Red adjusted the height of the microphone as he stood behind it, and - being the crowd-pleaser that he is - he flashed a brilliant smile, pointed toward his crazed parents screaming like fan-girls, and said "Hi. I'm Rudy, and...I'm not related to them."

Everyone burst out laughing.

Over the ruckus I heard Luther hassle his son. "BOOOOO! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!"

More laughs. Red cleared his throat. Lee sat on a stool and adjusted his own microphone, plucking a few experimental notes on the electric guitar he'd picked up, and then - to everyone's surprise - the members of "Tempered Revelers" came back on stage and took up their own instruments. When everyone was situated Red thumbed up his fedora, his tail wagging, and I heard a collective gasp of awe from the girls that went to my school as he winked and spoke into the mic.

Ohhhh, sweeties, I thought. You've got no clue.

His clear, crisp tenor voice echoed across the now dead-silent clearing. "Uhm, this is a song called "Animal." I'm sure you've heard it before." Some Neon Trees fans went mad. "But, yeah," he grinned coyly, looking in my direction. My chest was about to explode. "This is for you zombies out there." He tapped his own chest, still looking toward me. "Here's my heart. Feel free to take a bite of it tonight."

I choked on my own tongue.

He nodded to Lee, Lee nodded toward the calico on drums, and together they started the song with everyone else falling in seamlessly. I had no idea Lee could play guitar, but - I swear to God - it sounded like the actual song. The high, quick chords were flung from the stage along with the sharp rapping of the snare drum, Clint strummed a steady beat on his bass, and the music just spread out across the clearing and reverberated everywhere all at once. Then Red started singing, and his crystal voice rang like a bell through the night, and I started crying as his sound pierced me right through the heart.

Here we go again, I kinda wanna be more than friends So take it easy on me, I'm afraid you're never satisfied Here we go again, we're sick like animals, we play pretend You're just a cannibal and I'm afraid I won't get out alive No I won't sleep tonight

Oh, oh, I want some more Oh, oh, what are you waiting for? Take a bite of my heart tonight

Oh, oh, I want some more Oh, oh, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Say goodbye to my heart tonight

Here we are again, I feel the chemicals kicking in It's getting heavy and I wanna run and hide I wanna run and hide I do it every time, you're killing me now And I won't be denied by you, the animal inside of you!

My everything was tingling as he belted out, and I'd never felt so damn special in my entire life. I couldn't believe he was doing this. I sat completely dumbfounded as he repeated the chorus, his paws clutched around the microphone and his eyes - I felt - locked onto me, although I'm not even sure if he could see me at all. The drums took over with a heavy, thudding beat, and Clint's younger brother backed Red up with echoing vocals. Red himself seemed to caress the microphone, and he dropped his singing voice almost to a sensual whisper, and I couldn't help but get chills.

Hush, hush the world is quiet Hush, hush we both can't fight it It's us that made this mess Why can't you understand?

His voice climbed, the air rich and pealing with the note he carried, and I bet it could have been heard clear to the coast it was so pure. I closed my eyes and let it envelop me.

Whoa, I won't sleep toni---ght! I won't sleep toni--ght! Here we go again (Here we go again) (Here we go again)

I sang the chorus along with him this time, as did everyone else almost, and likewise we took up singing the "oh, oh" part of the song as he continued. He grinned as we sang along.

Here we go again (oh, oh) Here we go again (oh, oh) Here we go again (oh, oh) Say goodbye to my heart tonight

Oh, oh I want some more Oh, oh, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Say goodbye to my heart tonight

His voice was still ringing through the crowd when everyone went completely mental at how fantastic he was. I'd smeared the makeup around my eyes from crying so much, and if I could've run up to that stage and kissed him I would have right then and there in front of everyone. He'd made me feel alive yet again. He'd become a part of me, heart and soul, and his voice would carry in my heart for as long as I lived, it felt.

Red bowed for his new adoring fans, and - to boost the already deafening roar of approval - the judges gave him all a score of nine point five, but he'd already gotten the approval I knew he wanted: Mine.

As far as I was concerned it was over and done. I'd seen and heard all I'd wanted to, and I knew whoever was up next didn't stand a chance of winning. The band stayed where they were, and Lee got up as Red began to walk off stage so I thought he was going to follow, but he didn't. Instead he stopped in front of the microphone Red had used and situated his guitar a little better while Conall came out grinning from one ear to the other. He shook Red's paw, and the husky noticed Lee wasn't behind him and stared at the Shepherd in confusion as he stood before everyone. He then meandered off to the side of the stage, and - like me - he watched in bewilderment as Conall introduced the final act.

"And now, for the final performance of the night - we'll see if he can outdo his previous guitar shredding - here's Lee Hawthorne on his own playing..."

"Uh..." Lee shyly interrupted. His ears bobbed as he motioned for Conall to come over, and he whispered something in his ear, my big brother nodding in confirmation and clearing his throat.

"I beg your pardon; it seems we have a change of plans." He didn't tell us what the change was, instead leaving it to Lee. "Give it up, guys," he roused before going offstage to stand with Red.

The husky had crossed his arms and was looking just as disheveled as he was curious. I was, too, as I didn't know what to expect.

Lee cleared his throat, the crowd around me throwing out words of encouragement as the Shepherd began to look a bit nervous. He looked out across the clearing forlornly for a moment and something in his eyes - something I recognized - made my previously overjoyed heart twist in my chest.

"I was just supposed to play a song for you guys," he admitted. "It wouldn't have meant much, but..." He cleared his throat again and shuffled his feet. "Something made me change my mind." He began plucking sweet, gentle notes that were both happy and melancholy at the same time, and - as soft as they were - they passed right through me and into my core. "This song is pretty much me at the moment. It's called "Cough Syrup." His eyes passed over the crowd as he continued to strum that dream-like sound, and I felt his gaze linger on me. Then he seemed to frown, he strengthened the notes he was playing, and the Calico fell right in with a sharp rap of her snare and a steady, rippling bass-beat that shuddered in my chest. Lee started to sing, and his voice was just like the notes he'd been playing: joyous but sad, real but surreal. His sound was passionate and heart-wrenchingly potent, and I didn't have to think too hard to know what had caused him to sing such a powerful song. It was hard for me to listen, and it was even harder for me to watch him, but I couldn't look away. I had to see what I'd done, as this song was for me, too.

Life's too short to even care at all, a-whoa-ho I'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control, a-oh-ho-oh These fishes in the sea they're staring at me, a-whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh-ho A wet world aches for the beat of a drum, a-whoa-oh

If I could find a way to see this straight I'd run away To some fortune that I should have found by now I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down, come down

The notes went from soothingly forlorn to fiery and passionate now, but as he began singing again they faded back to calm, the sudden shift causing my skin and fur to tingle.

Life's too short to even care at all, a-whoa-ho I'm coming up now, coming up now out of the blue, a-oh-ho-oh These zombies in the park they're looking for my heart, a-whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh-ho A dark world aches for a splash of the sun, a-whoa-oh

If I could find a way to see this straight I'd run away To some fortune that I should have found by now

So I run back to the things they say could restore me Restore life the way it should be I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down

All of the music died away except for those otherworldly notes that seemed to define him, and his voice was like a fog descending and baffling every sense I had of the world around me. My vision was clouded by both tears and from watching him without blinking for so long, and he seemed on the verge of fading away. I didn't want him to go, and I didn't want him to stop singing.

Life's too short to even care at all, a-whoa-ho I'm losing my mind losing my mind losing control, a-oh-ho-oh

Then he did stop singing. He dropped his head as he went into a baffling guitar solo that threw that cosmic, unrelenting voice of his troubles and pain right out of his heart and into the crowd. Not an eye was looking away from his blurred fingers as they danced across those strings. The waves of sound seemed to ripple from him like a translucent halo, and as the notes climbed he wrenched back his head and looked out at all of us, looked at me, and tears were streaking down his face.

If I could find a way to see this straight I'd run away To some fortune that I should have found by now

So I run back to the things they say could restore me Restore life the way it should be I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down

His voice then fell again, but his passion didn't die in the slightest. He cracked up on his final, warbling notes, but it only managed to tear my heart from my chest even more.

One more spoon of cough syrup now, a-whoa-oh One more spoon of cough syrup now, whoa-oh-whoa-oh

The song had seeped into my body, and, even after it had ended and the sound was carried off, I still felt it. I still heard it. I felt Lee, and I knew the pain that I'd caused him.

He lingered on stage for a minute or two as everyone tried to collect their wits. It was so silent that not even any crickets chirped. That song...it had touched everyone. No one knew how to react to such enthralling emotion. I was with them. I was a mess. Up in front of everyone, Lee wiped his still glistening eyes, gave a shaky smile, flashed a quick and pained glance toward my direction, and walked off the opposite side of the stage to where Red had gone off without even waiting to hear his score. My boyfriend was still standing there, albeit completely blown away like the rest of us, if not worse. No...no, something was wrong. His gaze stayed glued to where Lee had disappeared, and then he slowly looked toward me. Even from such a distance I could see the whites of his eyes and read the familiar and agonizing expression on his face.

Oh...oh no, I panicked.

I then panicked even more as Red turned hastily on his heel and sped off of the stage. I was on my feet in an instant, the only one on my feet for that matter, and that made it easy to see him race around the back of the stage and head off in the direction that Lee had gone. Even though my legs seemed to turn to lead, and even though my heart was beating so fast I could easily have been having a heart attack, I ran after them. I had to go after them.

Red knew.

As subtle as Lee's song could have been, the emotion and blatantly powerful feelings he expressed through it - that he expressed for me - were not, at least not to those of us who knew him. Or, to those of us who thought they'd known him. Red hadn't known all about him, but he did now.

Oh God, Red knew now.