FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

More story for you guys! I've been writing this literally non-stop. I might be a tiny bit obsessed, but that's okay. Right?...

This chapter includes a lot of character introduction and campus exploration. I'm trying to be a little more descriptive about areas. I hope it's noticeable. Anyway, enjoy!

Warning: This story may contain romantic and/or sexual interaction between two males. If this is something that bothers you, feel free to leave the page now.

---

Nate knocked on Cody's door. Seconds later, the door opened and the bear smiled.

"Hey, Nate. And Tyler. What's up?"

"We came to see if you wanted to come to Wackadoo's with us. All of Tyler's friends are going," Nate said.

"And my little Nate is okay with this? He's usually not so social," Cory said back and then playfully stuck out his tongue. "Sure. Let me see if Jeremy and Doug want to come too."

The bear turned back and shouted for the others. Tyler laughed as he looked back at Nate.

"Not usually social, huh?"

Nate chuckled nervously. "No, not usually. I was always kinda quiet in high school. Most of the time I just stuck around Cory and a small group of friends and that was it."

Tyler nodded.

"Alright," the two heard Cory say as he came back outside. "They'll catch up. They're putting clothes on. I think I interrupted something." He laughed.

"Huh?" asked Nate as the three started walking.

"Jeremy and Doug are a couple. They're actually high school sweethearts. Been together three years. Really cute if you think about it," Cory replied.

"Does it bother you that you have gay roommates?" Tyler asked.

"Not at all. It's not like I haven't been hit on by other guys before. I just politely tell them I'm straight. Besides, I'm happy for them. They look good together."

Nate stayed silent and held onto the shoulder strap his camera bag hung on, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He wasn't sure why. He'd been hit on before by other guys too, and he told them that he wasn't interested just like Cory did. But he continued to be quiet, turning his head between the two males as they had the conversation.

"Fair enough points. I can't say I've been hit on by another dude, though. Then again, most guys in Missouri wouldn't dare admit they had same-sex attractions for fear they'd be beaten or disowned by their family," Tyler stated.

"It's sad to think that that's the world we live in; where people fear to be themselves because of what others think of them," said Cory.

Nate pursed his lips. "Um, can we talk about something else?..."

"Sorry, bud. You're right. Jeremy and Doug are coming up anyway," the bear replied.

Nate turned to see behind them to find two stags holding hooves and having a little conversation. One was a little taller than the other, but both were relatively muscular and had the same mix of brown and white colored fur. In a way, they almost looked like brothers. One had a black UCF shirt on and the other wore a gold one; the school colors. Both also wore silver gym shorts.

"You're right," Tyler said with a laugh before they approached. "They do look good together."

"Heya, Cory," the taller one said. He then looked at Nate and smiled. "I assume you're Nate. Cory told us all about you." He reached out with his free hoof.

Nate nodded and shook the hoof with his paw. "Mhmm."

"I'm Doug and this is the love of my life, Jeremy," he smiled at the other stag.

Jeremy blushed. "Don't embarrass me, babe." He faced Nate. "It's nice to meet you. And say, are you Tyler Selend? As in the football team's quarterback?"

Tyler snickered. "Yes, that's me. I'm one of Nate's roommates." He turned and whispered to Nate, "I wonder if this is what everyone will be like when they meet me."

"Oh my god," Doug said, eyes going wide. "It really is him. Wow, Nate. You lucked out."

"Yeah, I guess," the fox replied for lack of a better response.

"C'mon, guys. I'm hungry," the bear joked as he turned and kept waking down the pathway.

-

The five of them had crossed the street that ran through the campus. They walked through a small plaza that went between the Libra and Aries housing complexes. Jeremy and Doug led the pack, Tyler was just behind, and Nate and Cory brought up the rear. The two stags still held onto each other as they walked, and for some reason Nate just couldn't stop watching them.

"You okay, bud?" Cory asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. At least I think so..."

"Still thinking about your roommates and their friends, huh?"

"Yeah," Nate lied. "That's it."

"I'm glad you invited me to hang out with you guys. I'm very proud that you're actually talking with them."

"I'm not anti-social, Cory. I'm just quiet," the fox said half-annoyed.

The bear replied with a simple smirk and ruffled the fox's hair before he caught up to Tyler and started talking with him.

Nate suppressed a scoff and stared down at the bear who wasn't paying any attention at this point. The white fox sighed again and grabbed the camera out from his bag and turned it on. He had a black and silver 20 megapixel EOS Rebel T3i DSLR Canon which costed about 500 dollars of his own money. Needless to say, it was his prized possession. Attached was a short-range zoom lens; a standard for most photographers. The fox took a quick look around for something photo worthy. It was about 1:10 in the afternoon, so this was prime time for some excitement.

Multiple furs passed by, some carrying books and bags and others riding bikes or boards. It's likely that the majority of them were planning their route to their classes. Others were probably just exploring the campus or going to visit friends. In the distance came two vixens on roller blades. Making some quick adjustments on the camera, Nate held it up and took some quick snaps as they whizzed by. He heard the girls giggle in the distance, but he paid no mind to it. Up in one of the trees was a busy honeybee hive. Nate adjusted the camera settings again and took a few pictures. Luckily he had more time to focus. The shutter time was set so that the bees still looked like they were flying instead of being perfectly still like any amateur photographer would've done. He looked at the display. The bees looked alive, almost like they could pop out of the frame at any moment. The hive was in perfect focus and every little detail could be seen. Even the leaves in the tree had good quality.

Nate grinned. "If my first assignment has anything to do with nature, I think I just got myself an A+ photo."

"Nate, you're falling behind!" came the distant voice of Cory. He and the others were a good 50 yards ahead of him now. They all turned and looked at him, the big bear waving his arms.

"Sorry!" Nate shouted back, his face tinting red. He started to jog and quickly caught up.

-

The five of them turned a corner and in front of them stood the Student Union, a five story circular building with a small little courtyard in the front. The pathway was made of painted bricks, forming different shapes and designs. There were stands that displayed the different clubs and organizations around campus and multiple furs gathered around to sate their curiosity. There was even a small stage where a small band, likely formed of just students, was performing. The four of them were horses, one on vocals with an electric guitar, one with a bass, one with keyboards, and the last on drums. At that moment, they were playing a slower song, almost jazzy in a way.

"Who're they?" Cory asked.

"Oh that's just one of the student bands that perform every now and again. I think they're called 'Project 21'. Something like that. Probably just a placeholder name," replied Jeremy. "It's really cool how the University just lets people do performances like that so long as they don't cause riots or destroy property. All they have to do is get permission and then set up everything themselves."

"Probably have to sign some papers saying 'non-profit event' or something," said Doug with a snicker just before sneaking a hug and kiss on the cheek from the other stag. Jeremy blushed just slightly and nuzzled Doug's cheek in response.

All of them laughed, except for Nate who was too busy with his camera again. He took some quick shots of the band, the other students, the plaza, the Union, pretty much everything.

"Hey, Tyler!" came a female voice. A cougar ran up and gave him a quick hug. Tyler was slightly dumbfounded at the hug. She smiled at him. "I was wondering if you and Nate were gonna show up." From behind her came a group of other furs; the ones gathered in the living room of the dorm from earlier.

"Oh. Hi, Gina. I didn't recognize you for a second there," the wolf replied.

"It's okay. We only met a few hours ago anyway. Sorry, I'm a big hugger," she said with a big grin.

"She always has been," said Will, a surprisingly short black bear, and another one of Nate and Tyler's roommates. He came across as a typical gamer boy wearing a Minecraft shirt with a picture of a skeleton archer and some baggy shorts. He had a bit of a pudgy belly and little to no muscle. He looked over and saw the fox taking pictures. "Wow, Nate's going crazy with the picture taking over there, isn't he?"

Tyler turned and looked. He couldn't help but smile as he saw how much fun the white fox was having. "Yeah, he's really into it." He turned back to the others. "Well now that we're all here, let's get some food."

Nate's ears perked at hearing the word 'food' and his stomach growled. He hadn't realized how hungry he actually was. He quickly put his camera away and caught up with the group. "Wackadoo's is inside, right? Let's go."

The whole group made their way inside the large building, now a group of ten. The inside of the Student Union was beautiful. The floor was made of what almost looked like marble, reflecting the image of those who were walking. The roof was made out of stained glass and lit up everything. On every floor there was a circular balcony that went around the perimeter and students could look down at the ground floor if they sat at the tables. To the left was a stairwell and a set of elevators and also a hallway that stretched down to a set of conference rooms. Right ahead of them was another open room full of different quick service restaurants and tons of tables and chairs. A lot of students were gathered there, playing on laptops or reading books or just talking amongst themselves. This was probably one of the better gathering spots on campus. To the right was a service counter and also the entrance of the most popular restaurant and bar, Wackadoo's. The left half of the room was where the tables and bar was. The right half was a video arcade and some pool tables, also with it's own bar counter.

The group made their way inside and were greeted by the aroma of burgers, fried chicken, french fries, and alcohol. In the back corner was a large circular table, so they made their way over there and sat. Nate found a place between Cory and Tyler. Doug and Jeremy were next to Cory and Gina was just to the right of Tyler, followed by Will and then the other three who hadn't been introduced yet, two more females and another male.

"Oh by the way, this is Doug and Jeremy, two of my roommates," said Cory as he made a motion to them. The two stags did a small wave.

"Hi! I'm Gina. I'm really energetic and random sometimes, and I'm usually in a very positive mood." The cat was wearing a pink shirt with a light jacket on and a skirt with stockings. She was obviously all about her wardrobe. Nate gave a small glare at her, recognizing her voice. She was the one that called him gay earlier.

"Overly positive if you ask me," said Will with a snicker. Gina elbowed him and the group laughed. "I'm Will. I'm a total geek and I'm perfectly accepting of that. Most of the time I'm just in my room on my computer. I'm also one of Gina's childhood friends and I partially regret it." Gina scoffed and elbowed him again. "Ow, what? You know I'm kidding."

"I'm Andy. I'm really chill and laid back and lazy, but I'm also normally pretty friendly. Oh, and I curse a lot when I'm tired or in a bad mood. Like more than normally." Nate groaned on the inside as he looked at the falcon. This was another one of his roommates. He looked like a pothead.

"He's also a pothead," said one of the other girls as she laughed. "Hi, I'm Lauren. I'm a tomboy. I'm completely into sports and gaming and all that shit. But I'm not a lesbian even though everyone thinks I am. Oh and I'm Andy and Will and Gina's friend." She was an arctic fox like Nate. She wore a backwards cap and a simple blue shirt and some jeans with a black belt with lots of sparkly white gems.

"I'm Stephanie, I'm uh... average, I guess. I'm usually pretty quiet. Just another one of the girls." She was a zebra with a teal colored shirt and some black skinny jeans on.

"You're in the Marching Knights, aren't you?" Jeremy asked. "I think you play Mellophone."

She blushed a little. "Yeah. Are you in the band too? I didn't recognize you."

"We both are," said Doug. "Saxophone players. It's okay, we're all new."

"So did all of you guys go to the same school?" Tyler asked the other five.

"Yeah, we're from Miami. Not too far from here," said Gina with a giggle. "Where are you two from, Nate?"

Nate blinked. "Huh? Oh, Cory and I are actually locals. We came from Windermere. It's to the west of here."

"Isn't that where all the rich people live?" asked Lauren.

Cory laughed. "Apparently. Though I think it's pretty mixed. My family has a lot of money. Nate's has an average amount."

"Jeremy and I came from Ft. Lauderdale. It feels weird being away from home," Doug said.

"No kidding!" Will laughed. "Though I bet Tyler knows about that more than any of us, huh?"

Tyler smirked and shrugged a little. "Home's only four states away, more or less. Not that big of a deal."

Everyone laughed, even Nate who just couldn't stop looking at the wolf for some reason. He had such a perfect face and beautiful hazel eyes that the fox could just look at for hours. His smile was so sincere and welcoming, and his body just- Nate shook his head.

"Why am I thinking like this? This is just weird. I can't stop looking at him. I want to hear him talk and have him look at me. I blush whenever he smiles at me. My stomach feels funny and it's hard to breathe. It's like I'm falling in... No! I'm straight."

Nate gulped and cleared his throat. "So, has anyone been here before? What's good to eat?"

The rest of the group looked at each other, waiting for someone to answer. Obviously no one had eaten here before.

"No idea," said Will. "All I know is that it's good. But you can order like this giant burger that has all sorts of stuff on it. I think it's called the 'Fat-Ass Challenge' or something?"

"Dude, I would eat the shit out of that burger..." stated Andy. "Though I'd probably have to be baked to do it without getting sick."

Most of the table snickered. Nate rolled his eyes.

"Hello!" came a loud female voice. "My name's Frankie and I'll be your waitress. Have any of you been here before?"

A whole symphony of 'nopes' came from the table and the waitress laughed. "Well alright, I'll give you guys some menus and come back in a few minutes, alright?"

"Sounds good," Cory said. "Ooo, they have fried pickles?! I love those!"

"Wow, they have a lot of different choices," said Gina.

Nate took a look. The menu was surprisingly large, offering things from Salads to sandwiches to burgers to quesadillas. After a few minutes, he decided on the Wild West Philly Steak, a burger with slices of ribeye steak with fried onions, bbq sauce, and cheddar-jack cheese.

-

The waitress came back with everyone's food and the group continued talking and enjoying their meal.

"I gotta say, you two look really cute together," Lauren said as she looked at Jeremy and Doug.

The two of them smiled and laughed, Jeremy's face going a little red.

"Thanks. It's been good few years, hasn't it?" Doug said. Jeremy nodded in response. "What about you guys? Any of you have a significant other?"

"Nah. I wish I had a boy like that, though," Lauren replied first.

"I'm too quiet to talk to boys..." said Stephanie.

"Aww, Steph, you're so pretty though! I bet if you just tried you'd have a guy all over you like that!" shouted out Gina as she snapped on the last word.

The zebra giggled quietly. "But that's the thing; I'd have to actually try. I'm more about waiting until the guy comes to me."

Gina rolled her eyes. "It's like a marketing campaign, girl. You gotta show off what you got like I do."

Will looked at her with his head rested in one of his paws. "So where's your boyfriend then? Oh right, you don't have one."

Gina stuck her tongue out at the bear. "That's because a guy has to treat a lady right or else it won't work. The last guys I dated were all dicks. Well not you, Will. But our relationship just felt awkward."

Will shook his head, slightly annoyed with her. "I don't have a girlfriend. Not really looking right now. Too much to handle."

Andy shrugged. "My girl went to a different school up in North Florida. We still talk all the time and I Skype with her every now and again. She wants to come visit when she can. I'll probably get some hot action then." He laughed, as did most of the boys at the table.

Cory snickered. "I had a girlfriend once, but we only lasted about a month. Ended up cheating on me with some bull on the soccer team. I think she only went out with me cuz my family has money anyway."

"What about you, Nate?" Doug asked. "Anyone you've gone out with or have the hots for?"

Nate stayed quiet for a second, feeling so awkward from the question.

"Uh, no. Well, not really... I haven't been in a relationship before," the fox said.

"Aw, but you're such a cute little thing!" Gina said with a smile.

Nate looked at her for a second, but then noticed as everyone's eyes were on him for that moment. He shrunk down a little in his chair, face now completely red. He felt self-conscious when others looked at him. He really hated being in the limelight.

"What about you, Tyler?" Cory said, noticing his friend's grief. Nate sighed in relief and Cory gave a quick wink.

"I've never been with anyone. Been too busy with football and such since my dad keeps pressuring it on me. Never had time to get close with someone."

"Now that's a surprise," Lauren said.

"Yeah, dude, you're ripped. You could probably have any girl on campus in your pants if you wanted," said Will.

"I suppose," Tyler said. "But I've got a lot to work on, being the new quarterback and all. I don't need to focus on relationships. Don't want to."

Nate frowned at that comment, but again he wasn't entirely sure why. The fox continued to eat his burger, staying out of the conversation as much as he could.

"Can you believe classes start in just two days?" asked Jeremy.

"I wish we had like another week," Andy replied. "I still have two more books to get for my Biology Lab. Anyone wanna come with me to the bookstore after this?"

"I'll go," said Lauren. "I have another book to get too. Don't you have something else to get, Steph?"

"No, I'm all ready. But I'll come along," the zebra responded.

"I'll go too," said Tyler.

"I'll pass. Though I do want to explore the campus some more while we still have time. Didn't you want to do that, Nate?" said Cory as he gently elbowed the fox.

"Uh, sure," he replied. This was probably for the best anyway. Nate had been wanting to find some time away from Tyler and get his thoughts organized.

The group finished their meal and gathered outside in their little sub-groups.

"I think Doug and I will just head back to our dorm. Thanks for inviting us, guys. It was fun." The two stags waved at the group as they turned to leave, getting goodbyes from everyone.

"I'm gonna head back to my room, too," said Will.

"I'll come along," Gina said. "See you all later!"

After the two of them left, Tyler, Andy, Lauren, and Stephanie waved goodbye to Nate and Cory as they left for the bookstore.

Nate sighed and turned to take a few steps.

"Alright, spill."

He turned and looked at Cory, who was standing with his arms crossed.

"What?"

"Spill, Nate. I saw you looking at Tyler that whole time. What's on your mind?" the bear asked.

Nate sighed and turned away. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He got a few feet away and out of earshot before Cory sighed quietly. "If only you knew what I knew, bud..."

---

Such inner conflict. What do you guys think? What's Nate hiding? I'm not telling. Well, at least not yet :P

Thanks for reading!