My Personal Star Part 8
#9 of My Personal Star
Ah, exes. Who doesn't love them. Just one more chapter to go, folks. The game's almost up.
Getting back to campus, Valin stopped in the parking lot and kept Martin from leaving for a moment. "So, there's one last present that I thought should wait. And, it's all up to you, but..." Valin pulled some folded up papers out of his jacket and offered them to Martin. "These are room change forms. Caleb...offered this suggestion. He wants to room with Travis, and thought that you might be interested. He'll even help you move your stuff, if you accept."
Martin blushed a bit as he took the papers, looking them over. "So, I'd get to...snuggle every night? See you get out of the shower in just a towel? Even...cook for you from time to time?" His blush grew as Valin took his hands and nodded. "And...do you want this? And promise to not distract too much during study time?" Valin laughed and nodded his agreement, waiting for Martin's answer. "Well...I think...This is a dream come true. And after sharing a bed with you all break, I don't think I could sleep well without you."
Valin grinned widely and leaned in to kiss Martin happily. "Just fill out the forms and I'll get the pack mules to work. By tonight, we'll be roommates." As the otter started filling in the blanks, Valin got out and stretched, smiling at the prospects that the new semester looked to be bringing.
A loud knocking woke Valin from his nap, his hair standing up in all directions. Grumbling to himself as he pulled on shorts, Valin stumbled down the hallway and opened the door. Standing outside was a green cobra in messy, loose clothing, sunglasses hiding his eyes. "Yo, man, where's Martin? I was told he was here, and I need to speak with him." The cobra started to push his way into the dorm, but Valin shoved him back, making him stumble.
"Step back, dude. He's not here. There's this little thing called class that he has to attend. You can just take a seat on the steps. He'll be along." The cobra hissed as he straightened back up, starting to advance back towards Valin. "Bring it, bucko. I've been looking for a new practice dummy. Last one broke. Guess I got a bit too...rough."
The cobra hesitated, but had finally started to take a step forward when Martin appeared on the steps, looking shocked. "Seth? What the hell are you doing here? And how the hell did you know where I was?" Seth turned around, suddenly all smiles. "And why the hell are you harassing my boyfriend?"
Seth walked up to Martin, arms spread wide, but the otter knocked him aside and walked over to Valin. "Oh, come on, Marty. You know you missed me. Listen, I'm sorry about our fight. It was nothing, and I feel bad about it. I really, really do. So please..." Seth froze, his smile falling. "Wait...did you say boyfriend? What the hell? When did this happen?"
Martin kissed Valin on the cheek, drawing an angry glare from Seth, before sending him back to the room with a gentle swat on the butt. "It doesn't matter. You cheated on me. Multiple times. You were the one that broke it off. And that was over a year ago. I moved on. Maybe you should too." Martin went to close the door, but Seth stepped up and stopped it.
"At least let me make it up to you. I want to take you out to dinner, catch up, see if we can't still be friends. We had something, I know it, and I don't want it to vanish. Will you at least give me that? Tonight, around 6? I'll be here, don't be late. And don't be afraid to dress up like you know I like." Without waiting for an answer, Seth turned and walked away, leaving a confused Martin standing in the doorway before shaking his head and closing the door.
Valin and Martin walked out of the dorm in somewhat casual, nice-looking clothes and holding hands. As they walked down the steps together, Seth stepped around the corner, his wide smile dropping when he saw the wolf. "What the hell? I invited you, Martin, not him. This was supposed to be our night together," he whined, making sure to keep Martin between himself and Valin.
"You said you wanted to be friends. If you can't get along with my boyfriend, then it just isn't going to happen. End of story. Besides, it will be good for you two to get to know each other better." With a reluctant sigh, Seth gave in and led the couple down the sidewalk.
"I found this cute little restaurant downtown. Thought we'd walk there, because the weather's been so nice. Just enjoy the town and the company..." Seth gritted his teeth as he said it, pointedly glaring at Valin. "Save the conversation for when we get to the place. Sound good?"
Valin nodded, a small smile on his face, but Martin glanced around, looking for something. "Actually, I kinda have to use the men's room. I'll just be a moment. You guys can chat while I'm inside." Giving Valin a quick kiss on the cheek, Martin stepped inside a small shop, leaving the two alone.
The moment that the door closed behind Martin, Seth rounded on Valin. "Listen here, you little shit. Martin is mine. I had him first, and he will always belong to me. So I recommend you just back off now and save yourself a trip to the hospital, or maybe the graveyard, because the last guy wasn't so lucky as to get a warning like this."
Valin leaned against the wall, waiting. "You say that, but he willingly chose to leave you, to pick me, and has made it abundantly clear that you're lucky to be given this chance to be just friends. And I'm under orders not to hurt you...too much. So run along, or I might have to..."
Valin was cut off as Seth charged him, knocking him off of the wall and into the alley between the buildings. As they struggled, Valin slammed Seth into the walls, trying to break free of the snake's grip. With a forceful shove, Seth sent Valin stumbling further into the alley. "You'll never see him again..." he muttered, spitting venom after the wolf. Valin barely had enough time to avert his head, making the worst of the splash miss his eyes. Seth took this opportunity to kick at Valin, knocking him down.
Seth walked out of the alley just before Martin re-emerged, looking around in confusion. "Oh, I have a message for you. Valin had to go back to the dorm. He forgot his wallet. He said that if he could, he'd meet us at the restaurant, but to go on without him." Seth walked over and draped his arm around Martin's shoulders, guiding him down the street as the otter glanced around nervously.
Not long after the two left, an ambulance can tearing down the street, pouring out a few paramedics that hurried into the alley and loaded up the groaning Valin. "Hold on, son. You'll be alright. Someone called us after your...altercation. You've got some burns. Venom? We'll get that patched up. You're lucky that it missed your eyes as much as it did. Could have caused lasting damage." They continued talking, trying to keep Valin calm as they loaded him into the ambulance and rushed off to the hospital.
Martin was seated at the table, fending off Seth's groping hands under the table as he tried to focus on the meal. Seth was all but ignoring his food, choosing instead to stare at Martin. The otter was glad for the distraction when his phone buzzed. Shoving away Seth's hands again, Martin walked towards the front of the restaurant as he answered.
"Martin? It's Kriv. Valin's in the hospital. Someone attacked him. Spat venom at him. He's out cold right now, but we thought you'd like to get down here for when he wakes up." Martin stuttered his thanks and hung up, hurrying back to the table looking pissed off. Seth saw him coming and stood up, looking concerned.
"Bad news? Sit down and we can..."
"Shut the fuck up. Valin's in the hospital. Venom." A look of fear crossed Seth's face as he realized that Martin knew. "Yeah. So fuck off. And the bill's all on you." Martin shoved Seth away when he tried to step forward to grab hold of him. "I said fuck off." Martin stormed out of the restaurant, followed closely by Seth.
"Listen to me. He was no good for you. You have me back. I'm all you'll ever need. Forget about that fucker and let's finish our dinner." Seth grabbed Martin's arm, spinning him back around. "Don't you walk away from me, you fucking pussy. I own you. You're my..." Seth was cut off as Martin punched him hard, sending the snake reeling.
"No. I belong to myself. I belong to my new family. But I certainly don't belong to an asshole like you." Seth started to straighten up just for Martin to punch him again, fully knocking him down this time. "And if you ever come near me, him or anyone else I know again, I won't hold back." Giving him one final kick, Martin took off running down the street, headed back to campus to get to his car.