Wednesday Morning, 18 days later

School was finally calming down just like I knew it would. It was better this way and soon it would stop completely; no more smug students pretending they did anything, no more preaching teachers acting like they hadn't turned a blind eye to what was happening, no more people pretending they cared. Just a little more time and it would all go back to normal. Or mostly normal, there were some improvements.

Calvin was approaching, smiling and waving as he split with some of the other kids who rode the bus with him. Since Marcus had gone, he'd come out of his shell even more. It was small stuff, things not everyone would notice, but it was clear to me. He was more relaxed, stood straighter, talked to more people. The more he opened up, the more kids wanted to hang around him; the more they hung around him, the more he opened up. 

"Hiya guys!" He dropped his backpack to the ground and flopped down beside me. I thought he was a morning person before, but now he was some kind of... super morning person... or something. There probably wasn't a word for this, no one could have ever been as happy to be awake this early as he was, he was like a ray of sunshine trapped in the form of a cat and even I couldn't resist the cheer.

"There you are! Come here!" I pulled him into me, savoring his warmth and the fruity smell coming off of him. That's new. "Why do you smell like melons?" 

"I got a new shampoo. Do you like it?" He pushed himself up to face me, his muzzle not even an inch from mine. 

"I think it's great." It did smell good, but it didn't really match him. We'll try some other smells for you, maybe we can go shopping some day.

He leaned in, just a little further, and stopped. I gave him a little peck of a kiss, our position made it hard to give more but it seemed to satisfy him. 

"If you two start doing it right here, I'm leaving." Mat said. He was leaning back sitting against the tree, his eyes half closed with sleep. He was doing better with his caffeine cleanse, but he still didn't have his normal energy.

Calvin rolled off me to sit between us. "You're just jealous." He teased.

"You still missing Stace?" I asked. 

Mat nodded. "We're still texting, but it's not the same" 

"You could try Kayla. She had her eyes on you all last year." I suggested.

"Kayla's a ho." He said. 

"She was nice to me." Calvin said.

"She's a ho." Mat repeated.

Nice? What kind of nice? Regular nice or was it something more? Would he know if she was flirting? Obviously he'd never leave me for her, but she better not try anyways. I pulled Calvin into me, getting a surprised yell that quickly turned into laughter. 

"Not Kayla." I didn't know if I was telling Mat or Calvin. 

"Maybe I'll just stay single for a little while. Just until I'm over her." Mat said. 

School started a few minutes later, Calvin raced away with the first bell and Mat and I slowly walked to homeroom. We arrived just before the second bell marked us late, not that the teacher cared, they stopped lecturing me about tardiness after the problem with Marcus went public. Mat said it was sympathy, I didn't care as long as they left me alone. 

The school day dragged the way it always did when I had plans. Lunch came and we discussed our plans for the weekend. I wanted to go to the beach again.

"I dunno, Man. What about a sleepover at Mat's place? We can make s'mores in the fire pit and watch scary movies all night." Brandon suggested. 

"We can go to Mat's after, let's hit the beach while it's still warm enough." I told him. 

"But then we'll be too tired to stay up all night. We'll pass out at like midnight or something." 

"That's what energy drinks are for. Mat's got like a million of them he hasn't been drinking. It'll be fine, beach during the day, movies at night." 

"Don't I get a say in it? It's my house." Mat was joking, he didn't care. 

"No, shut up!" Brandon and I said together. The nerds started laughing. 

"Your place is the best, you have everything there." Martin told him. He had been sticking close to Mat lately. 

"That sounds good. I can bring The Jeweler to watch." Jeremy said. 

"I got Bats out of Hell 4." Calvin offered. 

"That sounds cool and all, but we also have the whole day to plan for too." We hadn't gone to the beach or the field in weeks, they kept outvoting me and I was feeling cooped up.

"I don't really want to go out. Let's just stay inside." Brandon was starting to sound tense. He had been wanting to stay inside the last couple weeks, it wasn't like him.

"Come on Man, it's almost November. We'll have all winter to stay inside, but we won't get to go swimming much longer." The weather was already getting cooler and I didn't want to miss what might be our last chance. 

"Volleyball was fun." Jeremy said

"Just shut up about the beach already! We all know why you really want to go there!" Brandon snapped. "You just want to perv on a bunch of naked dudes, and maybe one in particular." He turned pointedly at Calvin who seemed to shrink down in his seat.

I stood up. "Fuck you! That's not the only reason! Fine, how about Verity Field?" Brandon cringed at the suggestion, confirming my suspicion. "You haven't wanted to do anything these last few weeks except sit inside. What's wrong? Scared you'll fall on your face again?"

Brandon shot out of his seat and stumbled a little from the sudden movement. He worked his mouth a few times but didn't say anything. His eyes got a little watery and he turned to storm off. 

"Real smooth, Kyle." Mat shook his head and followed Brandon with Martin at his heel. Jeremy hesitated, but followed as well.

I sat back into my seat, anger suddenly gone. "Dammit." 

"Kyle?" Calvin asked. 

I shook my head. "Just go with them. I want to be alone right now." 

His arms wrapped around me, giving me a few seconds of comfort before he left too. 

The rest of lunch dragged on and so did the classes that followed. I wouldn't see any of the others until swimming class which was the last one of the day this week. Calvin and Mat stood near me while Coach Kirstoff talked, just like they always did. We were released to the locker room after the coach was finished.

"How is he?" I asked Mat. 

"Pissed. More than normal. You don't need me to tell you that." Mat tossed his shirt into his locker. 

"He looked sad to me." Calvin said. Mat and I turned to looked directly at him, causing him to clutch his shirt tighter. "Yeah, he was... pissed, too, but he mostly looked sad to me."

"I should go talk-"

"No, give him some space. You can say sorry tomorrow." Mat interrupted. 

Say sorry? Me? I-. I was already going to, but being told to do it made me not want to. Besides, Calvin was right, he wasn't just pissed. I think I actually hurt him

"Yeah. Tomorrow." 

Calvin brushed against me on our way out of the locker room. "Do you still want to go out after school today? I understand if you don't." 

"Do you even have to ask? I wouldn't miss it for the world." I patted his back. 

Coach Kirstoff had started pushing pushing me harder lately, he even called me out for coasting once. "I know that's not everything you got, Kyle! Swim faster!" and "Calvin's been trying his hardest so you better too! He's gonna catch up if you don't improve!" He was still the only teacher I believed actually cared and this only helped to prove it. Despite my frustration, I actually felt better after every swim. 

Calvin was puffing at the end, even more than usual after the first half of class. "I will catch up to you... I will!" Determination warred with exhaustion on his face creating a mix that was more cute than fierce. 

"Of course you will, Cal. One of these days, when I'm old and feeble, I'll slow down just enough for you to keep up." I pulled him in and he gave a half hearted attempt to wrestle his way out. 

"He might catch up sooner than that if he keeps this up, even with Coach pushing you." Mat said. 

"No way, swimming's MY thing. Nobody but the otters can keep up." Calvin would get better, loads better, but I wouldn't let anyone beat me. 

"You better look for a new thing Kyle, 'cause it'll be mine before you know it!" Calvin switched from struggling to get away to pushing into me.

"No chance, nerdlet, you're never catching up!" We started wrestling, Mat joined in, helping Calvin and trying to dunk me. Coach Kirstoff gave us a few seconds of play before blowing his whistle to stop us. 

"See? It takes both of you just to stand a chance against me in the water!" It wasn't the same thing, but I wanted to egg them on. 

"Stand a chance? We did more than that, Coach only stopped us because he saw how bad you were losing." Mat said. 

Swimming class ended some time later. Being the last class of the day, several of the other guys rushed so they could get out faster, not caring that they would smell bad later and depriving me of so many cute boys to look at. I still had the cutest boy, but there were still too many guys in there for him to relax fully. 

The tip of Calvin's tail was perked up under his towel, he was running the blow-dryer over himself faster than normal. "Come on, Kyle, we're dry enough."

"Nuh-uh, you gotta dry all the way. If I smell any mildew, I'm locking you in a public shower... or maybe I'll lock us both in one." No threat has ever sounded so nice. "Hmmm, maybe you should hurry." 

"Maybe you should help me dry off faster." He countered. 

"No way, I'm not waiting around for you two to groom each other. I'll leave and take my car with me." Mat said. That wouldn't work, we needed his car to get to town. 

"Fine, fine, no grooming. We are gonna dry off completely, though. I don't want my boyfriend smelling on our first date." Calvin's tail brushed against mine, he loved hearing me call him that. 

Even though I insisted on not rushing, we still finished drying and dressing before school was actually over. Most of the kids who had finished showering early were hanging outside, waiting for the buses, but that wasn't a problem for us. Mat started driving off, surprising Calvin. 

"What about the bell?" Calvin asked. 

"What about it? Waiting's for suckers who can't drive." Mat answered.

"Why should we wait? It's not like we have any more classes today. Nobody'll miss us." I told him. 

"I guess... yeah. Yeah! We can start our date sooner." Calvin leaned back in his seat and started chattering about his new game, a spin-off of Mech Warriors. I did my best to listen and sometimes asked questions to act like I was interested, it was getting easier the more we did this. 

"Is it two player?" Are you going to make me play it with you? 

Calvin's face lit up when I asked that. "No, it's just single player. That's okay though, you haven't finished Mech Warriors with me yet so we can play that instead!" Mat started snickering in the driver's seat and I resisted the urge to punch him. 

It wasn't a long drive, Mat dropped us off near the restaurant and left to get to the mall where he'd be watching a movie. Calvin and I walked the rest of the way to Basket Case discussing what we'd be getting.

"The flounder's the best. Have you tried it yet?" Calvin asked. 

"It's good, but I'm getting the catfish." His face twisted a little. "What? It's a fish, not a cat." I told him. 

"I know that! It's just weird is all. They've got whiskers." He reached up to rub his own.

"Did I ever tell you about a prank Mat played on me when we were younger?" Calvin was already hooked. "His mom ordered Siamese food and he told me they eat cats over there."

He was grinning. "You believed him?" 

"Well, it's true actually." I said. 

His grin turned to horror. "What?" 

"Anyways, he also said that Siamese places catch stray cats here and like to feed them to unsuspecting Provincials. I called him a liar but, when the food got there, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. And he looks at mine and says 'yup, I bet it was meowing just yesterday."

"What did you do?" Calvin asked. 

"I cried and he started laughing and his mom got really mad and yelled at him. They had to order me pizza instead because I couldn't eat the Siamese food after that." It was a funny story now, but it really freaked me out back then.

"That's horrible! I can't believe he did that!" He patted my back like he was trying to make me feel better. 

"I should have known better. They got me fish with my noodles. It didn't even look like normal meat." I wonder if Calvin likes Siamese food.

"Was it catfish?" He asked. 

"Naw, they don't eat catfish." 

"Why not?"

"It doesn't meow enough." I said. 

"Now you're horrible." He muttered.

Basket Case wasn't a fancy place by any standard, the decor was rustic, the furniture wooden, the floors plain and messy with cracked peanut shells, and nearly everything was deep fried, but it was delicious and that's what we cared about. The fancy stuff could come later on other dates. I would have to work for some extra cash so I could pay for us both, but that wasn't a problem. Today was about having fun. 

Calvin snatched a peanut out of the bucket on the table and cracked it open with his teeth. A waitress came over immediately with rolls and asked for our drinks. We ordered our food, too since we already knew what we wanted. Calvin tore open a roll, buttered it, and started putting peanuts in it.

"That's not how you make peanut butter." I told him. 

"I know that, it just tastes good. You should try it." Nope, I'm not doing that. Not even for you. 

"Nah, I'll pass." I bit into my own roll.

"Come on, you might like it. You never know until you try it." He closed his up and took a bite. A peanut fell into his lap, but he picked it back up and ate it. I need to teach you some hygiene. 

"I'm allergic to peanuts on bread." 

He snickered. "No you're not! Come on, just one bite." He held it out to me.

"Nope, keep your freaky little sandwich to yourself." I was leaning back, exaggerating my disgust. 

"Fine, more for me." His foot bumped against mine as he moved it closer to me.

Our food arrived and we enjoyed our wonderful, greasy baskets of fried fish and french fries. I tried to get Calvin to taste the catfish, but he stubbornly refused. I almost considered sneaking a piece in his basket when he wasn't looking, but didn't think it would work. 

"So, how long have you been friends with Mat?" The question came out of nowhere, I had to take a moment to think. 

"Uh, middle school? Sixth grade." Five years now, it was a long time. 

"Cool! Me too! With Martin, I mean. What about Brandon?" Why are you asking about them? 

"Freshmen year. Why?" Just two years, but this was the first I really considered him to be a friend. 

"Did you guys ever date?" He was leaning forward now. Where is this coming from? 

"Nah, Mat only likes girls. I dunno about Brandon. What's up, Cal? Why're you asking about this stuff?" I sipped my lime fizzle. Is he trying to trap me? No, he's not devious like that. Jealous? He doesn't look jealous. 

"I just wanna know about your other boyfriends. What were they like? What's your type? Did they have bigger muscles? Play sports? Is that why you want us to go swimming and stuff every week? So I get bigger?" What? That's a wild turn. 

"Mmm, you'd be pretty hot with some muscles." It was the wrong thing to say, his body sagged a little. "But then you wouldn't be my little kitty anymore, would you? Nah, I already like you Calvin, you don't need to change." An image flashed in my mind, him, wearing my clothes. They'd be way too big on him. He'd probably have to hold my pants up to keep them from falling. I wonder if he'd do it, maybe he'd even let me take a picture of that. 

Maybe my thoughts showed on my face, his eyes widened and the tips of his ears folded just a little. "Do you... Was Brandon right? Do you really just wanna swim so you can look at other guys? I heard you do that." 

Damn you, Brandon. If you ruined Calvin for me... "No! I mean, yeah, I like to look, but that's just a perk. I love the water, Cal. I love swimming, I get to work out everything, it feels good in a way nothing else does!" 

He blinked a few times. "Okay, okay, I believe you. You're not trying to make me bigger for you. Then... does that mean you like skinny guys? Were the others like me?"

"Others? Calvin, there weren't others. What's this about?" Why are you asking about this now.

He ignored my question. "What do you mean there weren't any others? You never had another boyfriend? How?"

"Well, there was one boy when I was twelve, but that doesn't really count. We never went out and he 'dated' someone new every week. We never even traded numbers." That didn't stop me from feeling bad when I saw him with someone else the next Monday. "But you're the only one who I've ever had feelings for." Everyone else was just meat. Pretty to look at, but not worth my attention. His eyes were wide, almost shining, his mouth hung open just a little. "My turn. What's this about? Is someone making you feel bad?"

"N-no, no one's doing that. I just... I want to be better for you. I... You're my first too and I don't want you to leave me for someone cooler or stronger or better looking." Seriously? Why would I want anyone else? 

"You wanna know what you can do? You can be more confident. No one should be telling you you're not good enough, not even you. And if you think you're not hot enough, you can come sit on my lap and feel just how hot I think you are." He didn't take me up on that, but he did get all flustered and cute. Watching his face while he looked around to make sure no one heard that was good too.

I convinced him to talk about his video games while we finished our food and tried very hard to pay attention. His nerdy little hobbies would make him feel better. At the end of the meal, the waitress set the bill in front of me, correctly guessing that I was the one who would pay for it all. Calvin didn't seem to realize, though, and pulled cash out of his pocket. 

"How much is it?" He asked. 

I glanced at the bill, not too bad. "Doesn't matter, you're not paying."

"What? But I have money." He held up a couple of tenners to make his point. 

"Cool. Keep it. I'm paying." I slapped my cash onto the bill. 

"But-" 

"No." I interrupted. 

"I can-" 

"No." I said again. 

"My mom gave me-" 

I just wanna buy stuff for my boyfriend, stop making it so hard. "Keep it. I'm paying." 

"Fine, then I'll pay for the arcade." He said. 

"Wrong." I wish I had my phone out, I'd love a picture of the cute frustration on your face, I'd frame it on my nightstand. 

I was still worried about what he was saying earlier, I couldn't have him doubting himself. We were a few buildings away when I pushed him to the wall, tilted his face up to me, and kissed him. Not a soft one, I pushed my whole body into his, one hand behind his head to protect it from the rough wall, the other in the small of his back. He was tense for a second but quickly leaned into it, I could feel in my hip just how much he was enjoying it. He broke out first, gasping for breath. I wasn't ready to let him go, though. 

"I've been waiting to do that for over an hour. I think you need to sit next to me next time, I don't want a table cockblocking me again." I could barely keep myself from tearing our clothes off right there. 

"D-don't let go yet. People will see..." 

I rubbed my hip against him, teasing him a little. "Mmmm, yeah, boxers don't hide anything when you're excited." 

"Kyle!" He gasped out. "You're not helping." 

I laughed but let up a little and then found my leg giving out and my body being roughly dragged around the corner and slammed into the wall. Calvin yelled something but I was too dazed to understand. My vision cleared to show an angry black bear pinning me against the wall. Hal. 

He ignored Calvin yelling at him to let me go. "I thought you two'd never stop fucking over there. Good thing I nabbed ya before the police came and separated you, otherwise I'd have to wait even longer." 

"What do you want, Hal?" Fuck fuck fuck! Why aren't the police watching you? 

"I want you to know that you don't get to just get away with what you did." He punched my stomach, hard. I tried to double over but couldn't with him holding me up. "It's your fault!" 

"Kyle!" Calvin ran to us and was swatted away. Hal was never as big as Marcus, but that didn't mean he wasn't big enough to hurt us both. 

"Calvin, run! Get help!" I screamed at him. 

"My beef ain't with you, cat. Run away, maybe you'll get someone to stop me before I mess him up too bad." He chuckled. "But I wouldn't bet on it." 

Calvin froze, panicked. "Just run." I said. He hesitated and did.

Hal's knee drove into my thigh, the same leg he had kicked out earlier. "He's going to jail because of you." 

Of course it's about Marcus. "Good! He deserves it!" 

"So do you you piece of shit!" He hit me again. "You made him like this!" 

What? "I didn't do shit, he's always been a psycho." 

"No he wasn't. He was always a jerk, but he was never that bad. It's because of you! You and your damn pictures! You made him feel like he could do whatever he wanted. Everything was recorded and no one ever did anything about him." Another hit.

"He made me do it for him!" I tried to punch him back, it was like hitting a wall, I wasn't even sure he noticed.

"No no no no no, he told me all about it. He caught you perving out on some kid after a little pantsing and thought you were just some kinky freak. You offered to take the pictures, it was your idea." That was partly true, but... I couldn't finished the thought, his head reared back, struck me, and everything went black. 

The lights were too bright, my already pounding head throbbed harder. I might have groaned. 

"Kyle!" Something blocked the lights, letting me open my eyes a little. My mom's face hung over me. My dad appeared on the other side. 

"Mom? Dad?" I didn't remember them being with me, just Hal. "Where'd he go?" 

"The police have him." My dad said. 

"Don't worry, you're safe." My mom. 

I was given water and had to deal with a nurse asking me questions. Did I know who I was, did I know what day it was, did I know where I was? Who's the prime minister? Stupid stuff anyone should be able to answer. She also had me follow a pen with my eyes. I'm not drunk, does that really tell her anything? Turned out I had a concussion, a tear in my leg, and bruises on my ribs and stomach. With how angry Hal was, I probably should have been grateful that's all it was. The nurse said I should take it easy for a week or two and I'd be fine.

Mrs. Keller wanted to talk to me next. She was in her police uniform and had a notepad out. 

"Is Calvin okay?" I asked her. That got her to smile, just a little. 

"He's fine, just a couple of scrapes. He's in the waiting room right now with your other friends, you can see them after I ask you some questions." She went in, asking what we were doing before, when Hal showed up, what he said to me. I downplayed what I did to Calvin, just called it a kiss and hoped he didn't tell her more. He wouldn't, would he? This would be a good time for you to be too shy to say much. Hal was already done by the time Calvin got back with some help, apparently he freaked out because he thought he killed me. His headbutt sent my head through the rotting wooden facade of the building and the wood shifted some loose concrete. He thought it was the sound of my skull cracking and called the police himself. It would almost be funny if it didn't hurt so bad. 

"One last thing. Don't listen to him about Marcus. His kind always want to blame someone else. They both made their own choices, none of it was your fault." She had a hand on my shoulder like she was trying to comfort me. I nodded as if I agreed with her. What if he was right though?

Mrs. Keller left saying she'd tell my friends they could. My dad brought me a cup of apple juice and some peanut butter crackers, the kind of stuff that seemed to be in every emergency room ever. "They said you'll be able to leave in a little while." He told me. 

My friends crowded into the room not long after, Mat entering first and immediately giving an exaggerated cringe. "Oof! I hope you don't feel as bad as you look." 

My mom sighed loudly but I thought it was kind of funny. "I still look better than you." 

"Kyle! Are you okay?" Calvin hugged me and immediately backed off when I winced.

"Oh no, your vision's shot. You'll need dorky thick frame glasses the rest of your life." Mat's smile didn't reach his eyes. "You scared us, Dude." 

Even Brandon was there, looking worried instead of angry. I tried to smile for him. Were we good? "I guess I won't get to swim this weekend after all. Maybe a movie night?" I glanced at Calvin. "Or some games?" Did I really just ask for video games? The nurse needs to check my head again. 

"Yeah." Brandon sat down, didn't say anything else. Okay, he's still angry, but at least he's here. 

The nurses were quick about getting us out of there, I think they didn't want a bunch of teens crowding their emergency room. I was brought out in a wheelchair, the nurses didn't want me falling on my way out. The sun was only just setting, which felt wrong. I felt like it should be much later. 

Mat fished his keys out of his pocket. "I gotta keep playing chauffer tonight, bring everyone home. Will I see you at school tomorrow?"

The nurses already said I would be fine to go, but I didn't want to. I should get a day off after being beat up. It should be, like, a law or something. "Yeah, I didn't get a pass or nothing." 

"Man, that blows. They could at least give you a day off." Exactly! 

"Maybe you can sleep over? Keep me from riding the bus?" I suddenly didn't want to be alone. Not everyone could stay, but maybe I could have a couple of them. "You too, Brandon?" 

"Yeah, if your parents are cool with it. I'll get my stuff." Mat said. 

Brandon wasn't as quick to answer. Please, I want to talk to you. "I'll ask my dad." He pulled his phone out and walked off. 

My parents had to talk about it, but they did agree to let the two of them stay over. Mat drove the nerds home and Brandon rode with me and my parents. Once there, we limped to my room and sat down. He didn't say anything for a while. 

"Thanks, Man, I didn't want to be alone tonight." I said. 

"Yeah." Was all he said. 

I gave it a few more seconds. Mat had said to wait, but I had to say something. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have... I was just mad. I'm sorry." It was harder to say than it should have been. 

He was quiet for several seconds before speaking. "Was it really that obvious? Why I didn't want to go? Did everyone already know?" 

"No, I was wondering for a while. It just came to me. I don't know if the others know." Calvin might have figured it out, he was the one who said Brandon looked sad. Did Mat know? He said Brandon was pissed, but he might have just been covering for him. 

"How's your leg? You were limping pretty bad earlier?" Brandon asked, changing the subject. Was that good or did he just not want to talk about it anymore? 

"It sucks. Hal really fucked it up when he kicked it."

"If I was there, I would have..." He didn't finish, he couldn't have beat Hal. 

"I know you would have." It was nice to pretend it could have gone differently.

Mat arrived later. We didn't do much, there wasn't much we could do on a school night. I teased Mat about being the only one with two good legs, told him he had to do stuff for us. Brandon even joined in on the joke. Mat threw my couch cushions at us in response. 

Word of what happened was already being passed around the school the next day. Kids and teachers feigning sympathy for me again, it was almost as bad as the beating. At least the teachers didn't expect me to turn in my homework, I didn't do any of it. How long would it last this time?