"Um...Tyler, can I talk to you? In private?"
Tyler was a boy who never really expected to get confessions from people, or have drama surrounding him. Sure, he wasn't unattractive, but he wasn't the popular kid either-- he was just an ordinary, 13-year-old teenager who was just getting on with his life and barely keeping up with his school work. When one of his friends, another boy his age called Levi, asked him to speak in private however, he ultimately assumed the worst. Tyler, a slender reddish-furred marten, followed his friend, a short-furred, caramel coloured Akita, down the hallway of the school and outside, where the autumn chill billowed through their fur and left them both shivering in their short-sleeved polo shirts. They walked a little further as the marten's heart pounded with anxiety, unsure what his friend wanted to talk to him about so secretly.
They wandered around outside the main school building for a while until they eventually decided to sit on a small wall not too far from the main stairs leading up to the building. Behind them was an expansive of greenery where they might usually sit during lunch time, but given that was early in the morning and they had arrived just before first period, no one was sitting outside, especially not in the cold. Tyler briefly shivered in his seat and leant forwards, clasping his hands together between his knees as Levi leant back, staring up at the cloudy sky above them.
"...So?" Tyler blinked over at him, flicking a rounded ear. "What is it?"
"O-Oh! Um," Levi cleared his throat and leant forwards, looking down at his hands and he visibly squirmed. "I, uh...Tyler..."
"Uh-huh."
"I was...um..."
"Oh my god, Levi, just tell me!"
"I-I like you!" The teen spluttered, for Tyler frowned, confused at first, before he spluttered with laughter. He covered his mouth and the Akita visibly grimaced at his reaction, averting his gaze for a moment. Tyler sensed his friend's bad mood, even if he was trying to hide it-- even 13-year-olds could be receptive.
"Sorry...I mean, I like you too! We're friends!" Tyler assured him and the boy shook his head.
"No, like...I like like you," He emphasised the first repeated word deliberately, to put his point across. "I want to...go out with you."
"Oh...Oh!" Tyler recoiled, though not out of disgust, but surprise. "Uh, Levi...you're cool and all, but I'm not..."
"I thought so," He murmured. "I don't know, I just...got mixed signals. You want to hang out a lot and you're fun to be around...are you sure you're not?"
Tyler parted his lips for a moment and then closed them, his usually neutral and cheerful expression souring. Truthfully, he'd never really thought about it before...hell, he hadn't even really masturbated yet. When he sat there and tried to think about what he liked, he drew a blank. Girls, boys...when he put the both of them side by side in his mind, they were the same to him.
"I...I don't know," He admitted. "I just...always kind of assumed I like girls because, you know...that's what normal people would like. N-Not that you're normal, I--"
"I get it." Levi's tone became hard as he cut him off, before he blew a sigh. Guilt riddled Tyler's stomach and he squirmed in his seat, feeling bad.
"Sorry..." Tyler mumbled. "I didn't mean it like that. I like who you are, and if someone picked on you, I'd...punch 'em in the face. I just...thought I wanted to fit in more. Everyone else is like that, so I should be too...I think."
Levi pierced him with a gaze, and even Tyler was surprised at how introspective he was being as a 13-year-old. He couldn't strictly nuance himself in the way he wanted because he didn't have the vocabulary for it, but no-one should ever say that teens don't shoulder their own fair share of complicated feelings. The only thing Tyler felt awkward about was that he was airing such personal questions to himself out in the open on a cold autumn morning, when he hadn't even been out of bed longer than an hour, if that.
"I...I'm sorry Tyler," Levi sounded wistful. "I psyched myself up to ask you out, but didn't think about how you'd feel..."
"I don't think I have the answer you want," Tyler admitted. "I'm just not sure if I'm into guys...but I like hanging out."
Levi squirmed in his seat and shuffled a little closer, scooting across the brick until his hand touched with Tyler's own. The marten turned his head towards him and looked puzzled as the canine drew closer, looking like he wanted to say something. He parted his muzzle to speak, paused, then closed it again, then frowned. The entire sequence happened in less than a second or so and Tyler suppressed a snort of amusement, not wanting to embarrass him.
"What if, uh..." Levi began. "We, like, kissed? Just a little...to see if you like it."
He shrugged his shoulders as if it were the most simple thing in the world, but to Tyler it felt like a grave undertaking, though an important one. If there was any real way to understand more about how he felt, that was surely a sure-fire way to do so. With a nervous gulp and a nod, he adjusted himself in his seat, wincing as the brick pressed harshly to his backside covered in trousers, and he lowered his head down towards Levi's own-- the Akita was only a little bit shorter than him, so crossing the distance between them was easy.
Their lips brushed together for barely a moment or two before the Akita pushed, pressing his muzzle firmly to the marten's own. Tyler could feel just how much his friend was trembling from his nerves, and as their kiss deepened, Tyler closed his eyes and listened to his body. He paid close attention to the feeling of those furred lips against his own, of the way Levi's fingers curled around his hand, of how the canine huffed quietly through his nostrils against the marten's face. It was then that he felt something...a delicate, peculiar tingle in his stomach and made his heart beat just a little bit faster.
Levi slowly pulled back and Tyler did the same in kind, mimicking the other teen's withdrawal. Levi clearly still wanted the kiss to linger given his puckered muzzle and closed eyes, but he quickly opened them and cleared his throat, looking away when he realised Tyler was staring at him. The canine, flustered, rubbed the back of his neck and withdrew his hand from atop the marten's own and put them on his knees, fidgeting.
"S-So...um, what did you think?" He asked quietly, already sounded defeated. Tyler's muzzle wobbled and squirmed, and he looked down at his hands, tucking them between his legs.
"I, um..." He began. "I don't really know...but it felt good."
"It did?!" The Akita exclaimed a little too loudly, making nearby heads turn towards them and causing him to blush. Tyler shoved his side and covered his face for a moment, before he peeked at the canine through his spread fingers. He lowered his hands and stretched his muzzle into an awkward smile.
"Levi, I don't really know..." He admitted. "But...I like hanging out with you, and I liked that kiss. If we're going to, um, date...I want to take it slow."
"You mean it?" Levi suppressed his excitement into a whisper and Tyler sheepishly nodded.
"I'm...open to trying new things." He expressed, and Levi scooted closer, pressing up against his side. They would take it as slow as Tyler needed...and whether his young love would blossom or wilt could only be found out through time.
