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Part 2

Carson was waiting alone at the edge of the forest. He was wearing a white t shirt and a red and black flannel shirt over it and jeans. It went well with his eyes. I guess not all guys who want to look good have to be gay.

He saw me and waved. "Scout!"

"Hey, Carson."

"Ready for the hike?" he asked.

"Um..." I looked around for the other guys but no one else was walking over to join. "Where's everyone else?"

His ears drooped a little. "They wanted to play football instead."

_ He's lying._

I know he's lying but I don't want to press.

"Well...then I guess we can have fun without em."

Carson's ears shot straight up and a smile spread across his muzzle. "Damn right."

A couple minutes later we set off. The leaves crunched under my feet, usually annoying but my attention was on the towering trees above me. I couldn't take my eyes off it. The skinny, pale trunks were scattered across the forest. A few streaks of the afternoon sun poured through the canopy and hit a stream at just the right angle to make the whole scene look like one of the landscapes in the mess hall.

Mess hall. Mess hall. Mess hall. Where was Brent last night? I didn't see him this morning either, come to think of it. Where was he?

"Wow," Carson broke the serene silence. "It's so beautiful out here."

"Yeah."

We walked in silence for about twenty minutes before my stomach started growling. Fuck. I forgot to get lunch I was so psyched to go hiking here. And I was worried about Brent. I think I paced around the cabin for a good hour before coming out here to find Carson. We were walking at an incline and my stomach was growing louder with each passing minute.

"We can stop if you want," Carson said.

My fur bristled. Has he been watching me? Or did he just hear my stomach? "It's fine. I just forgot to eat."

"If you want we can find a place to stop. I don't have much but I have a protein bar you can eat."

"I'd appreciate it."

It only took us five minutes to find some semi-flat ground and decided that was the best place. Carson reclined on a tree and tossed me the bar. I sat cross legged in front of him and started to nibble on the assorted nuts.

Where was Brent? It wasn't like him to be late. Or to ditch. At least, without telling me first. There's only been one other time where he completely left me hanging at the movies.

It was when we were first dating. Actually, this would've been our what, third or fourth? Something like that. But while I was waiting awkwardly outside the movies for Brent to come, minutes flew by and before I knew it, it'd been two hours and he still hasn't showed. I wanted to cry and just kick or punch something, but I called Sera instead. Man, was she pissed. It helped to have someone in the popular crowd as one of your best friends because it only took her ten minutes to find out where Brent was.

Then and there I told myself that whatever we pretended to have was over. I remember Sera didn't want to tell me at first. But I pushed. I probably shouldn't have. I felt like I was going to choke on my own tears. That night I actually couldn't cry anymore, and when I tried my eyes would burn from the hours of tears before.

I don't know why we stuck it out. I wanted to ring his stupid, douchebag, shit-faced neck (so did Sera and I knew she'd probably go through with it if I didn't plead her not to). Then we just talked and...well, here we are.

Was he...was he doing it again? Would he?

_ You know as much as I that he is._

Maybe he's not.

_ Y'know...you might be right. He might be working up a manipulative apology to woo you into sex again._

"Scout?" I shook my head and turned my attention to Carson. His head was cocked to one side and he was just staring at me. "Are you ok? You've been looking at the protein bar for five minutes."

Should I ask him about Brent? If anyone would know, it'd be him.

"Um, no, I'm fine. But...but I do have a question."

He tensed his body. It was a quick jerk, barely noticeable, though I saw it from years of seeing it from other guys who found out I was gay and had to be in a locker room with me.

"Yeah, sure, what is it?"

"Do you know where Brent was last night?"

Carson perked his ears. "Oh...I went to bed fairly early last night. I was pretty tired from the ride."

My ears fell to my head and I looked down.

"But," Carson said. My head shot back up and leaned in. "I did hear from some guys that some people were having a bonfire. Maybe he was there."

He probably was there. "Thanks, Carson," I said.

I quickly ate the protein bar and got up. I dusted off my jeans and stretched my legs like I was the one preparing for the soccer game. Carson didn't move and I didn't want to interrupt his thoughts so I turned my back towards him and took in the scents.

"Scout?"

I swiveled my head back to Carson. "Yeah?"

"Why do you stay with a guy like that?"

A guy like what? "What do you mean?"

"Like...I don't know. He's just such a...a dick to you. Why do you stay with him?"

I thought about it for a couple minutes. But I couldn't think of anything that didn't make me sound like a pussy. I told him I didn't know and he didn't press. We remained silent throughout the rest of the hike, only giving mumbled adjectives to express the beauty of the forest.

Why did I stay with him?