#CUB Student Dashboard

[digital-techtune2024]

[londone-fog]

Heart Songs- Reddie Genderbent AU

AO3 Link

In which Ellie is really confused, Ruth throws a party, Bea reads some stuff, Billie does some cool skateboard tricks, Steph is secretly cool, Beau is an amazing human, and Mack just wants to have a good time.

Also prom, sort of.

Notes: Hey guys, I'm back. I really hope you like this, because I've been working on this for a while now. If you have any questions about the AU or just in general, you can find me on tumblr at either cacti-cool (main account) or londone-fog (writing account). Have fun! Edit: I changed a few things. First off, the rating is now mature as there is a masturbation scene and some non-explicit sexual content in later chapters. Second, I changed the name of the fic, as well as the chapter names. Every chapter is named after a different Weezer song, as well as the fic name. I recommend you listen to the title song as you read the chapters! Thank you for understanding!

Part One- Rosanna

Ellie Kaspbrak was what you might refer to as “aggressively ordinary.”

She was an ordinary girl, from a little ordinary town, in the ordinary state of Maine. She lived in a small house with her dad. He had a boyfriend of sorts.

She thought of that one Monday morning, staring at her reflection in her vanity mirror. Her brown hair framed her tired face, eyes gaunt from lack of sleep. She fiddled with her hands, picking at the dry skin around her knuckles before looking around her room. Her light grey walls were decorated with a few sparse photos. Her furniture was wood, with a white floral bedspread pulled loosely over the twin mattress in the corner.

Ellie’s eyes stopped to look at the clock on the bedside table with a sort of anxious anticipation. It was 7:33. Her boyfriend would be picking her up at 7:45, like he did everyday.

Ellie’s boyfriend was a strange staple in her life. His name was Mason. He was a football player from the high school team, and therefore very large. If not for the constant workouts he underwent with the rest of the team in anticipation for the next season, he might have been obese. Ellie liked him well enough. He wasn’t particularly interesting; if Ellie herself was ordinary, then Mason was downright bland.

Suddenly, Ellie’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She held her breath, but was pleasantly surprised to see it was Ruth texting her.

Garbage Human: prey tell, my swellest el, is my contact name still garbage human in your phone

Ellie: Depends on why you’re asking.

Garbage Human: well i might not be so garbage anymore ;)

The text was then followed by a picture of Ruth standing next to a car. Well, car might have been too glamorous a word. It was a bright orange monstrocity on wheels, the paint sunbleached and peeling in places. One of the wheels was missing a hubcap. There was a long crack running across the length of the windshield. And finally, squatting near the front tire, was Ruth. Her curly, bobbed hair was pulled away from her face, large wire-framed glasses sitting on the end of her upturned nose. Her mouth was pulled into a mock-serious line; dangling from her fingers were the keys.

Ellie: Please tell me that isn’t a car.

Garbage Human: el you wound me

Garbage Human: yes that is my car her name is bessie

Ellie couldn’t help but nearly roll her eyes to the back of her head. Ruth was an interesting person. She was loud, with wild dark hair and even wilder eyes. Her mouth never seemed to close, even when she wasn’t talking (which was rare). She only seemed to wear clothes that had a pattern in some way, with cigarette smell clinging to every fibre. Her knees, elbows and palms were always riddled in scrapes and bruises from countless tumbles with her longboard. Yes, Ruth was very interesting.

It was anyone’s guess as to why they were each other’s best friends.

Garbage Human: i could start giving you rides now if you want

Ellie could practically hear the secret pleading in Ruth’s voice. The truth was, Ellie hadn’t seen her friends nearly as much as she used to. Since Mason and her started dating a few months back, it seemed like more and more of her time went to humoring her boyfriend; going to games and practices and movie dates. She missed their group of seven and the time they used to spend together. Especially when it came to Ruth. That was why she barely hesitated to type out her response.

Ellie: I guess. Just promise me I won’t end up dying in that thing

Garbage Human: you have my complete honor as a cub scout

Ellie smiled to herself; a small secret thing she’d never admit to. A sudden, loud honk from outside surprised her out of her moment, her spine straightening harshly. She looked out the window to see Mason sitting in his car, the same as every morning. Ellie sighed, gathering up her supplies and racing down the stairs.

Her father sat in his chair, the television nattering on in the background. He saw her, and motioned for her to come over.

Ellie and her father had a somewhat odd relationship. This was largely in part to Ellie’s mother dying when she was young, making her father somewhat… overprotective. Their relationship had become somewhat strained the older and more independent Ellie got. He didn’t like her being around boys, but he especially didn’t like her being around Ruth. He still to that day had no idea that she even spoke to Beau Marsh.

“Do you have your inhaler?”

“Yes, dad.”

Ellie didn’t actually need an inhaler. She’d known for a long time, since she was thirteen years old. Her father didn’t know that she knew, because Ellie had never brought it up to him. It didn’t just stop at the inhaler. He’d been trying to get her to take other bullshit medicine since she was small. Now that she knew better, she’d developed a complicated series of lies and sleight of hand to avoid taking the pills.

“You took your pills too, right?”

“Yup.” She’d taken them, alright. They sat heavy in the front pocket of her overalls, like a collection of riverstones. She could safely say that her father knew next to nothing about who she really was; his “little girl” was a facade created to keep her sane.

“Alright, sweetheart. Have a good day at school.” He leaned his cheek out, and she pressed a quick peck to the stubbled skin there.

Ellie didn’t breathe until she slammed the door of Mason’s car behind her.

“Jesus, you’ll break a window doing that, Ellie. What’s got your goat this morning?” Mason said, voice riding the line between scolding and whining.

“It’s just my dad. He’s been pestering me.”

Mason sighed, a patronizing little thing.

“You’re cute when you’re annoyed. He’s just trying to protect you.” He leaned over and placed a kiss to her cheek. Ellie resisted the urge to lean away.

They’d had the fight before; Mason believed that Ellie needed to be protected. She was small, she was skinny, she was feminine. Ellie knew that none of that was true.

“Mason, I need to ask something,” Ellie said quietly, car rumbling to life and pulling away from the house.

“Hmm.”

“I, uh…” She traced the outline of her phone through her pocket. “... well, my friend just got a car. And she lives closer to my house than you do-”

“Just spit it out, already.”

“Ruth is going to start giving me rides to school. It’s just… it’s more convenient, and I don’t get to see her as much as I used to.”

The car became deathly silent.

“So I’m taking up too much of your time? Is that it?”

Ellie’s fist clenched where is lay on her leg.

“I never said that. I just said that it’s more convenient for Ruth to pick me up in the mornings.”

“Why do you even want to spend so much time with her, anyway?”

Ellie looked away from the dashboard to her whitening knuckles, where a simple band of gold lay wrapped around her little finger. It was a ring that Ruth had given her on her sixteenth birthday, to replace the plastic cereal box ring that Ellie used to wear in childhood. It was the only jewelry that she wore everyday.

“Because she’s my best friend, Mason, and she lives closer to me than you do. Nothing more.”

The outline of the high school was rapidly approaching, and Ellie felt a little tension leak out of her body. Mason rubbed a thick hand over his face, letting out a long tired sigh.

“You know what, fine. Fine. On one condition.”

Ellie unclenched her hand slowly, quietly syphoning the air out of her body.

“What’s that?”

Mason quickly jerked the car into the parking lot, the sound of old soda cans clattering around the back seat as they pulled to a somewhat jarring stop. He pulled up the parking brake and rounded on Ellie with all the surprise of a tiger leaping from the bushes. He placed a meaty hand on her shoulder as if to keep her there, pinned, with no option but to listen to him.

“Go to prom with me.”

“What?”

“I don’t care who the hell gets you to school, as long as you say you’ll go with me.”

Ellie stared into Mason’s eyes, a nearly clear blue. Basically colorless, like looking through window and seeing absolutely nothing on the other side. Devoid of any personality or interest. She could feel her throat closing and her eyes sting, and she wondered briefly if she was going into anaphylaxis.

She wanted so badly to say no. She wanted to run out of this car and never come back. Maybe she’d just suffocate from anxiety right then.

“Sure, sounds great Mason.”

What the fuck am I saying? What is wrong with me? she thought as Mason leaned in and kissed her; it was sloppy and hit the corner of her mouth more than her actual lips. She quickly pulled away, muttering some sort of farewell as her feet hit the asphalt.

The parking lot was filled to the brim with students and shitty cars. Ellie kept her eyes to the ground, white knuckling the straps of her backpack as strangers hollered all around her. She only looked up when she heard the characteristic bark of her best friend’s laugh.

The loser’s club, as it had been known for years, consisted of the most ragtag group of teens that Derry, Maine had to offer. They all stood around Ruth’s new car, which was even more horrible in person. Billie Denbrough, their unofficial leader, was making a valiant effort to let loose with a would-be impressive string of cuss word from her place on the ground. Closer inspection showed a new hole torn in the knee of her jeans, with blood weakly dripping from the wound. Her trusty skateboard lay upended a few feet away. Ruth, as opposed to helping their friend, was laughing so hard she was nearly bent in half, black hair falling over her face. The other losers stood around in a sort of shell shocked state, not sure whether to help Billie or laugh along with Ruth.      

They all seemed to make up their minds the closer that Ellie got.

Bea rushed to check Billie’s knee, Mackenzie following with chuckle. Beau held out a hand, which Billie used to hoist herself to her feet. Steph stayed firmly in place, arms crossed with a stern look and secret smile in her eye. Ruth was practically on the ground herself at that point, Ellie’s shadow reaching across her as she approached.

“Ruth, you fucking idiot, what did you do this time?” Ellie asked, already rummaging through her bag for a band aid.

“Our darling Billie Jean can’t even do a kickflip without busting her ass,” Ruth said once she caught her breath.

“I c-c-can t-t-too, you a-a-a-fuck. I d-did this m-morning.”

Ellie shook her head, leaning down to press a bandage over the wound. If she’d been home, she would have dowsed it in hydrogen peroxide and used real gauze and bandage, but this would have to do. It was probably best, considering how dry and cracked her hands were these days.

“Thanks E-ellie,” Billie finally said.

And, at that, the bell for first period rang out, abruptly ending all shenanigans. Ellie slung her bag back over her shoulder, trying to ignore the itch under her skin from being so close to another person’s blood. Luckily, the thought was knocked out of her head by the slap of a hand against her shoulder.

“So, you seem tense. Did you have to flush yourself down the toilet to even get out of the house this morning?”

“Shut the hell up Ruth, I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

She didn’t have to look to know that Ruth’s permanent smile had faltered. Her hand went from a heavy weight to a soft comfort in a matter of seconds. In a rare moment of genuity, Ruth dropped her voice so only Ellie could hear.

“You okay, El? Is it your dad or…?”

“No, no, not really. Just kinda stressed out. And for the last time, stop calling me that. That’s a kid nickname.”

“Yeah, not happening. I know you secretly love it. You’ll thank me someday.”

She paused a moment to chew on her bottom lips, allowing a scarce ray of anxiety to shine through.

“You know what’ll make you feel better? I’m driving the losers to the quarry today, break in Bessie and all that. I know you’re probably busy with your boy toy, but you’re more than welcome to come.”

Ellie’s stomach dropped. She wanted so badly to see her friends, but she felt obligated to see Mason after everything that happened that morning. But one look at her friend’s face, and she knew where she should really be.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Ruth’s eyes lit up, and her mouth cracked open in a wide grin.

“Oh, Ellie-Belly, you won’t regret it. I knew you wouldn’t miss the chance to see my blinding white thighs.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, but allowed Ruth to throw an arm around her shoulders as they walked to class.

---

Ellie had never been a fan of spit.

She distinctly remembered the first time she’d had a panic attack. She had been about seven years old, and some boy in her class had decided it was the perfect time to let loose with a spit glob worthy of the gods. Unfortunately, Ellie had been standing near enough to be in the splash zone. It somehow was so much different than playing loogie at the quarry with with Billie and Ruth. This time, there was a wet splatter across the skirt of her jumper, and she lost it. Some combination her fathers instilled fear of germs and her own anxious tendencies brought about a cascade of tears and snot. It took a trip the restroom with both Ruth and Billie to get her to calm down enough to go back to recess.

Ellie thought of this as she sat in Mason’s car after school, his tongue making a valiant attempt to fight her tonsils.

This was an activity that took up much of her time after school. She’d never admit it to herself, but it was probably one of her least favorite parts of the day. Ellie genuinely struggled with physical contact; she’d gotten used to the losers touching her, but anyone else made her uncomfortable. Kissing Mason fell under the umbrella of uncomfortable.

Mason, on the other hand, was having a great time. Ellie was pushed further and further into the seat as he grew more and more eager. His hand was wrapped loosely around her thigh.

Ellie’s eyes opened, trying to look at the time on the clock and pretend she was interested in kissing. It was 3:24. School had ended nearly thirty minutes ago. The losers had all surely left to go to the quarry by then.

Suddenly, as if her mind had been read, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She slowly, carefully, reached her hand into her pocket to pull the phone out and held it behind Mason. The message was from Steph, saying that she needed to get to the quarry ASAP. Apparently Ruth wouldn’t stop complaining that Ellie had abandoned them.

Ellie’s mind was quickly snatched from the message when she the hand on her thigh move to cup her breast. She pulled away quickly, smacking Mason’s hand away.

“What? I thought you liked that.” he whined.

She didn’t like it. There was never a time where she said she did. Ellie tried to quickly think of an excuse.

“I, uh…”

“Come on, don’t be nervous.” Mason reached over and fiddled with one of the buckles on her overalls, trying to subtly unhook the button from the catch. An idea suddenly appeared in Ellie’s mind, and she pushed his hand away again.

“Uh, I’m wearing overalls.”

Indeed she was. They were her favorite pair, with the floral appliques on the legs that Steph had ironed on for her.

“What does that have to do with anything.”

“Well, uh, that would violate my rule.”

Ellie had the forethought when her and Mason started dating to put a rule in place: He was not allowed to touch her underneath her clothes, specifically when it came to pants.

“How’s that?”

“Overalls are like a shirt/pants combo. That breaks the rule.”

She could tell that it was a half-baked excuse, and Mason knew it too. His eyebrow was raised in confusion, but he relented and moved away. Ellie breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’ve been acting strange today.”

“No I haven’t”

Silence. Mason sighed, scrubbed at his face with his hand.

“Look, I have to do some conditioning today. You can either walk home or stay and watch. It’s up to you.”

Ellie resisted the urge to pump her fist in victory.

“I’d like to stay, but I have a lot of homework. Maybe tomorrow?”

Mason nodded, but Ellie was already out of the car.

She didn’t start running until she was sure he couldn’t see her anymore.

A genuine smile burst across her face as she pumped her legs. The air was beginning to warm, spring chill giving way to summer heat. The end of junior year was rapidly approaching, and the feeling of true freedom spurred Ellie on as she raced toward the quarry.

[yevonscribbles]

Backroads

In which a high school crush between a fox and a cougar grows into something more.

OK LISTEN! I had to get this out of my system! I am from the country (like COUNTRY country with 4-H and FFA lets-go-dance-in-cornfield-country) and this is romantic to me! It’s that cheesy “I wanted THAT but I was so far in the closet a talking lion is telling me about religious allegory,” type of idea from my teenage years that has been eating away at my sanity since I thought about it. So please enjoy with a cheap beer that you stole from your Dad and Garth Brooks playing on the radio…

*****

“This day has been shit… Ah got a C on mah test, ah have three reports due next week, and ah have another text on Monday…” Gideon Grey thought to himself as he slammed his locker shut. Senior year of high school was supposed to be a magical time for lots of mammals but all it did was remind the fox that he was going nowhere fast. At first, it had seem that the pudgy fox wouldn’t even graduate in a few months but with some tutoring from Bobby Catmull, Gideon would at least get his GED. The large cougar male had offered to help the former bully after the Grey family started to fall apart. Rumor had it that Gideon’s father had been abusing his wife and kit for years and the law had finally made a move towards the end of last semester to arrest the fox for multiple charges. Gideon and his mother had finally been saved and were working on rebuilding their lives since the beginning on the spring semester.

“Ah little late…” Gideon muttered to himself. Part of the healing process was to set up the pudgy fox with a counselor to try and help Gideon control his ‘unchecked rage and aggression,’ as the sow in a clean green dress had put it. The fox had met with her for the past three months and had to admit that having someone to talk to was helping. Bobby was helping too, staying after school to help the delinquent fox and being someone Gideon had grown to care for. He was close to the only friend Gideon had besides Travis. The cougar had grown from a small nerdy cub to a large lean young man with an attractive body. Gideon winced to himself. “Yer not allowed to call Bobby attractive ya queer fox…” He thought to himself. Sure, his counselor had helped him come to terms with his sexuality, but that doesn’t mean the fox was ready for the world to have one more thing to make fun of him for. “Besides. There is no way Bobby would like a broken mammal like me…” He thought to himself, as he shoved books from his locker to his tattered and worn backpack.

The long school day finally ended and Gideon started to trudge his way to his bus home with his torn and beaten backpack when the foxes path was blocked by a large frame. Growling, the fox shot the large mammal blocking his path a glare. Lately, every mammal had been anxious to start something with the former bully. Instead of an angry snarl, the fox saw the smiling muzzle of Bobby Catmull. Gideon looked away in embarrassment. “Sorry Bobby… Ah thought yer were someone who wanted to start something…” The cougar stood a full two heads above the fox and had a lean runner's body. If you didn’t know the mammal, you would guess he was the local football star but instead the cougar prefered to make music and art.

Bobby laughed a bit and adjusted his own backpack. “No one wants to hurt you Gid.” With an awkward shuffle, the large cat produced a small gift for the fox. “I heard you got a C on your last math test and I wanted to get you a little gift!” Gideon took the hand-wrapped item with a little hesitation. No one ever gave the fox anything…

“Ya didn’t have to… Ah only got a C because you stayed after school and helped me.  Ah should be getting ya something not the other way around!” The fox protested. Bobby just shook his head and smiled.

“I wanted to… Hurry, open it!” The cougar said, his tail flicking in excitement. With a smirk, the fox open the newspaper that was wrapped around the flat object. Now free from its wrapping, Gideon looked at the clear box that housed a round reflective disk.

“A CD?” Gideon asked looking back to the cougar.

“Yeah!” Bobby said excitedly, his long tan tail flicking behind him. “Remember when we were studying the other night and I was talking about the ‘Beagles’ and other classic rock bands? Tada! Now you can listen to good music while you study on your own!”

“Ohhhh…” Gideon said vaguely remembering the conversation. “...Thank you Bobby…” The fox looked at his feet.

With a frown, the large cat hunkered down to look at the fox's eye-level. “What's wrong? I thought you would be excited…” Bobby said failing to hide his disappointment.

Meeting the cougars eyes, Gideon saw the sad look forming over the large cat’s muzzle. The fox didn’t want to let the cougar down. “Ah am excited...It’s just… Ah don’t have a CD player...So I can’t listen to it…” Gideon admitted. He really didn’t own anything other than some clothes and a few old books left by his Grandmother. Normally, the fox would rather die than show weakness, but Bobby had really grown into a trusted friend over the past few months of tutoring. Gideon’s counselor had encouraged the fox to be honest with those he cared about.

“Oh!” Bobby said with some surprise. “I didn’t even think of that… That was very stupid of me Gideon. I am sorry.” The cougar offered a sincere look.

“Don’t apologize! Ya didn’t know!” Gideon felt his face warm. “Ah will figure out something later but ah gotta get to the bus!” The fox began to make his way past the cougar when a large paw grabbed his own.

“I have an idea!” Bobby said with a smile, squeezing the foxes paw. Gideon could feel his face turn a bright red as he looked from his held paw to the smiling cougar. He wouldn’t admit it, but the fox enjoyed the feeling on his paw wrapped by the large digits of the cougar, his slightly rough paw-pads warming the smaller mammal. Just as the fox was about to ask Bobby to let his paw go, the large cougar began to lead the pudgy teen out the school. “Let me take you home! I know the perfect place we can go and listen to the CD together!”

Gideon was thankful that the odd pair were some of the last students to leave the school and the parking lot was all but empty. Releasing the foxes paw Bobby, he fished for his key ring and pressed a plastic button housed there. A relatively new blue pick-up truck beeped in response from across the way. Throwing his backpack into the bed of the truck, the cougar moved to the passenger side and pulled opened the door. The fox blushed a bit and placed his own backpack in the bed before climbing into the larger cab of the truck still clutching his gift to his chest.

The blue truck was built for larger mammals like cows, horses, or in this case large breed cats. Gideon’s feet dangled from the seat with plenty of extra room above his head. With a huff, Bobby sat in the driver’s side and buckled in with a smile. “It’s a good truck! Dad used it for awhile before getting a company car. So I get access to the truck as long as I keep my grades up.”

“It must be nice to go where ya want…” The fox said buckling his seat belt. He look down at the CD still clutched in his paws. ‘Why am ah feeling so nervous?’ Gideon thought to himself. With a small roar of the engine, Bobby drove the pair out of the school parking lot and out towards the rolling fields of the Burrows. Many of the crops were just a small green plant in the Spring but in a few months large stocks of corn, multi-colored berries, and even large oval tobacco leaves could be seen. The fox watched out the window as a silence fell on the pair. The blue truck took a turn seemingly at random and continued to take the fox to an unknown location. A few more minutes and the truck parked on a small hill overlooking several fields and a lake.

Bobby turned to face the fox. “Here we go! My personal favorite spot! Mind if I see the CD real quick?” The large cat asked. Gideon handed his gift over and watched as the cougar took the round item and inserted it into the dashboard. After a moment, a soft guitar could be heard coming through the speakers. With a smile, the large cat cranked up the volume causing Gideon to cover his ears with a frown. “Oh sorry!  I forgot that your ears are more sensitive.”

Wincing, the fox looked at the large cat. “Ah little, why are ya playing it so loud? Won’t we get in trouble?” Gideon asked. With a large grin, the cougar unbuckled his seatbelt and patted the foxes paw.

“Naw, we won’t bother anyone here.  Wait there while I get everything set up.” And with that the large cat opened his door and started to reach below his seat for something before meeting Gideon’s eyes. With a blush Bobby added. “Could you close your eyes… I want it to be a surprise.” The fox gave the cougar a mocked frustrated look but did as he was told.

With his eyes closed, Gideon could focus on the smells and sounds around him; the CD was playing a soft guitar with a warm voice singing in tune and the truck cab the fox sat in smelled like Bobby and the usual scents of earth coming from the fields. Occasionally, a rustle or metal clank could be heard from where Bobby was working on his surprise. The fox felt his cheeks warm a little thinking about the cougar holding his paw earlier. He wasn’t sure why the cougar was being so friendly and went out of his way to give Gideon a present that he really didn’t deserve. Sure, they had spend hours together trying to get Gideon caught up and on his way to graduating before the end of senior year, but the fox thought Bobby was just being a good mammal. The cougar was easily the smartest mammal in their grade and had been one of the first to show support for Gideon after his father was arrested. ‘Maybe Bobby just feels sorry for me…” The fox thought before he heard the passenger door open and the warm voice of the cougar snapped the teen back to the present.

“Hold out your paw Gid.” Bobby said and again the fox complied. Jumping from the cab, the fox still with his eyes closed was lead around to the back of the truck. “Ok… Open your eyes!”

The red fox opened his eyes to see that the back of the truck had been turned into a makeshift picnic spot with a blanket thrown over the bed. Gideon found himself smiling and gave the cougar a sideways smile. “Did ya have this planned?”

“Not really… I had to improvise a little, here let me help you into the truck bed.” After a few moments, both mammals were laying in the bed of the truck with their backs propped against the cab watching the fields sprawling out all around them while the CD continued to play a collection of music hand-selected by Bobby. Gideon found himself absorbed by the sheer variety of music the cougar had picked out and after a particularly energetic song the fox smiled over to Bobby.

“Thank ya Bobby, ah really appreciate ya making this CD fer me.” Gideon said as his cheeks began to warm. “Ah don’t know why ya waste yer time on me though…” The fox started to twiddle his fingers together and looked out over the fields unable to meet the cougars eyes. Gideon felt tears well around his own eyes but tried his best to keep himself from crying. After a moment Bobby scooted closer to the fox and wrapped an arm around the smaller male.

“I don’t think I am wasting my time on you Gideon.” The cougar said in a warm whisper hugging the fox. “Hey look at me…” Bobby asked placing his large paw on the foxes cheek. Their eyes met and Bobby could see the tears Gideon was trying to hide. “I really like you Gideon Grey.” The larger male leaned forward until their lips met.

Gideon wasn’t sure if he should protest or allow himself to get swept away in the moment. Soon the fox began to kiss the large cat back placing his own paw on Bobby’s cheek. Eventually, the cougar broke the kiss and looked into the deep green eyes of the fox. The boys both wore a goofy satisfied grin.

“Ah can tell ya like me Bobby Catmull…” Gideon said with a little slur. The pair started to giggle at each other as the larger cat pulled the fox close into a hug. Leaning back in the cab of the truck, the pair continued to listen to music wrapped in each other's embrace. Their paws were locked together as they whispered to one another between the music. Slowly, the sun began to sink below the horizon and the bright blue sky gave way to rays of orange, red, and yellow.

Eventually, Bobby drove Gideon home and after a final goodbye kiss the fox waved the cougar off. Making his way into the small run-down building he called home, Gideon put his backpack down and headed to the kitchen.

“Well, well yer home late.” Gideon’s Mom said. The greying vixen walked over to her son and gave him a quick hug. The pair had been growing closer after Mr. Grey had been arrested. While there was still years of pain and hurt to heal, both Mother and Son were working hard to form a better bond and they would even go to counseling together at times. The vixen was also a bit pudgy much like her son and kept her longer autumn-colored head fur in a tight bun. She stood a little under her son’s chin and while Gideon had bright blue eyes hers were a cool misty grey.

Sniffing, the air the female fox stopped in her tracks. “Oh you smell a lot like a cougar right now, were you spending time with that Catmull boy?”

“Yes Mom, Bobby made me a CD so we listened to it in his truck. He’s gonna come get me tomorrow to help with mah essays…” Gideon said while he began searching the kitchen for a few items. His mother leaned in the doorway and took out a cigarette.

“Are you actually going to study tomorrow or make-out more?” The vixin said with a smile.

“MOM!” Gideon protested turning to his mother while his face turned a bright red.

“What? You can’t hide everything from me Gid! Ah can smell it and ah am all for ya making-out with a good kit! Truth be told, ah thought you would end up with Travis...” Mrs. Grey said lighting the cigarette. Gideon covered his eyes and took a deep breath to collect himself.

“Sweet cheese and crackers…” The male fox huffed as he went back to collecting the things he needed. Some flour, sugar, some strawberries from the fridge...

“Whatcha making?” The vixen asked taking a long draw from the tobacco product.

“Ah thought ah could make Grandma’s strawberry pie fer tomorrow… Fer Bobby…” Gideon said with a blush. The vixen giggled and turned to head back to the living room leaving her son to his work.

“As long as I get a slice, you can bake to yer heart’s content!” With a wave, Mrs. Grey disappeared from sight. “Tell Bobby he will need to come for dinner soon so ah can meet him! Yer not gonna date him till I give the O.K.” The vixen called from the other room.

“Mom! All we did was kiss!” Gideon hollered back and with a shake of his head, the teen began to prepare his Grandma’s famous pie. The younger fox began to laugh to himself. He could get used to the idea of dating the cougar.