Feel the Music by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
A jaded mind is fogged within the throws of uncertainty. Fits of indecisiveness, bouts with confusion, and spats of self-conflict are all too common in this regard. Yet, this is even more true when the mind is young and often immature. For the youth of this generation may have not yet experienced the allure of affection and how it might impact one's thought process.
At 13 years old Felix was a boy at the ripe age for such things. So far the beaver had not yet experienced any sort of attraction towards anyone. Whenever his friends talked about such things, he typically ignored them or just pretended to know what they were talking about. As they started talking more about things like boyfriends and girlfriends, he couldn't help but be a bit curious about it all.
Felix was very much what one might consider a typical music nut. He had a small group of friends but perhaps his closest ones were the ones he was in a band with. Felix was a bass player for his musical group "The Merks.". The Merks were something of a mixup between pop and rock. While they didn't have their songs quite yet, the members of the band rather enjoyed doing cover songs of whatever they found sparked their interest.
The band was made up of three members with a dog girl named Beatrice on drums and a shark boy named Trey on regular guitar. However, the one thing the group lacked was a front person. They had several tryouts in the past but no one seemed to work out. Even the ones who they tried recruiting, never went passed the first stage of things. As such, all of the songs that they played ended up being instrumental and without any vocals.
The musical group had been together now for 2 years. Beatrice, Trey, and Felix were all rather close with each other. Outside of their musical careers, one could seldom find the three of them apart. Trey and Beatrice were the closer of the group and Felix thought there might be romantic interest between the two, even if he had little evidence to back that theory up. Yet even with that possibility, things remained mutual between the three of them as time passed.
One weekend, that was all about to change. The Merks had planned a practice session as they always did at Trey's house. The shark's parents were the only ones fine with the boy and his friends practicing their music. To the others…it was naught but a ruckus and one in which neither of the other two teens' parents wanted around. It was something the group just put up with since they had no other option in the matter.
The three of them were setting up their instruments in the garage. It was a hot spring day so they had a few fans set up in the enclosed area. Even with the fans running though, they could feel how hot it was. Felix was responsible for getting the audio set up so that everything sounded smooth and without interference. He connected both guitars to the amps and made sure they were tuned.
Beatrice in the meanwhile worked on setting up her drum set, making sure her symbols and pedal were in working order. Trey had brought out the microphone and stand as someone had asked to try it out again, so he wanted to make sure it had a speaker so the fur could be heard. The other teens had heard about it but neither of them was that positive I would work out because of all the failed hires in the past.
Once they had gotten set up, they each took their instruments and started practicing. They weren't about to wait for the newcomer as they didn't have all day to play music. Trey's parents always set a somewhat flexible deadline of "Lunch" even if sometimes they allowed them to play after. It was a small detail they had forgotten to include in their advertisement as they always hoped they could practice more. The shark's mother soon came out to give them all lemonade and check on them.
They thanked the woman and soon got underway. Today they had chosen to work on some of My Morning Jacket's most recent releases. Each of them had been listening to the tracks and had gotten the sheet music for it. So they started up on that since it was what they agreed to practice. They started playing some of the songs with some minor slip-ups. Each time they did so, they stopped and attempted the same song again.
It was a long process that took more than enough tries. But each of them was dedicated enough to perfecting the tunes. After all each of them had the same grand designs of becoming professional musicians in the future. A dream that none of their parents had quashed just yet. The three of them continued to work through "Lucky to be alive" as they struggled through the guitar riffs. Neither Felix nor Trey could keep up with it.
The two boys argued with each other, both of the teens blaming each other for messing around. Beatrice had to get up to separate the two boys as it seemed like things were going to escalate beyond a verbal confrontation. The three of them decided to take a break as things seemed to be becoming dicy, and the heat from outside wasn't helping their already short tempers. Beatrice remained in between them just in case they decided to get at it again.
As they were taking a break they heard an unfamiliar voice speak to them from outside the lifted garage door.
"Yo, I suppose this is where the Merk tryouts are being held?" An otter boy stood in front of them in some ripped jeans and a tank top over his thin form.
All three of them looked up at him. They had seen him before at school but didn't know him beyond just seeing him in the halls.
"Yeah, who are you?" Felix looked up at him and took an immediate interest in the other boy.
The grey-furred otter walked into the garage. "Mah name is Cooper but ya can call me Coop."
"Sweet. Are you familiar with My Morning Jacket? If not we have the lyrics and sheet music so you can follow along without an issue." The beaver got up and grabbed one of them before handing it to the other boy.
Cooper took hold of it. "Ya, I am. Thanks."
"Let's get started back up then. No more funny business boys or I'll go get Trey's parents." Beatrice warned them as she headed over back towards her drum set.
The otter took his place at the mic. Cooper had sung before and his mother had told him countless times that he had a good voice. He still had the high tenor of a boy whose voice hadn't quite dropped yet. Still, his mother had convinced him that he should try out. After all the otter teen had been talking about it nonstop after seeing the advertisement hanging up around the various areas of the school.
It had taken his mother a few days to convince him to go but finally, Cooper had worked up the courage to go through with it. The otter teen stood at the microphone and tapped it. No sound came out as the other members of the group hadn't turned it on quite yet. Felix decided to help him out and turned it on. A loud screeching string of whiny feedback ensured as the four of them held their ears to block out the noise.
Felix messed with the connections a bit, causing it to finally clear up. Once he was done he padded back over to his bass guitar and picked it up. Beatrice tapped the drums and began to speak.
"Let's start with Lucky to be alive again. One…two…three."
The song started with the same down-tempo guitar solo before vocals followed. Cooper sang the first few words of the song without missing a beat. He was able to meet every rise and fall in tone and his voice was sublime. His singing helped the rest of the group get through the song without any issues. The old issues of the minor slipups of the guitar or bass had come to a close. It had seemed like Cooper's vocals had dragged them out of their slump.
The tempo picked up and each of the teens continued along with the songsheet, Felix was even able to make it through the miniature guitar solo at the end. Trey messed up a bit but the electrifying carry-through of the other boy was more than enough to drown out sharks slip up. Beatrice didn't miss a beat, she'd been practicing the song for several weeks now and hit every drum line without any issue. The song soon came to a close as the teens tried to catch a short break.
"Holy smokes dude…nice." Felix complimented the newcomer.
The otter gave him a thumbs up. "Ya too, yo. That was quite the guitar solo."
"Yeah…I think I messed up once but that was intense…heh." The beaver strummed his instrument making a light rubbing noise against the cords.
"Shall we try again or do a different song?" Beatrice asked the other members of the group.
The brown-furred teen perked up. "Why not let Coop pick? There weren't many vocals and that song and he's got a crazy good voice."
"Sure, go for it. Coop, any ideas?" She placed her drumsticks on the drums for the time being.
The otter looked back at her. "I like the song least expected. There isn't as much of a solo but it's a good melody."
"Okay, everyone turns to that song then." The dog suggested.
Both of the other boys picked up their instruments again with Beatrice doing the same.
"One…two…three." She counted down again.
The song started slower with a softer melody than the first. Cooper sang along with the lyrics accompanied by the strumming of Felix. The two played along with each other for a bit until Beatrice joined in. The instrumental jam session followed along after a few seconds with the otter swaying his body. This was a much easier song to follow along with since there weren't as many challenging moments.
Still, the first time around they faced a few issues. Trey continued to mess things up with his poor playing. Beatrice stared at him like he was doing it on purpose. Felix though had been practicing a lot and sheet music was something of an expertise for him. Eventually, the shark just got frustrated and walked out mid-song, seemingly going inside because he just wasn't feeling it. The other three finished the rest of the
song as it softened to a close.
"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go see what's bothering him." The dog girl knew her best friend all too well and wasn't about to leave him hanging.
She walked out of the garage and back into the home to go looking for him. This allowed Felix to chat with the new boy. The beaver put down his bass guitar on a nearby stand and walked over to the newcomer. Felix approached the somewhat taller teen and gently touched him on the shoulder to get his attention. The otter turned around, noticing him.
"Your voice is pretty amazing. How come you didn't try out for us before?" The smaller teen asked his new friend.
Cooper rubbed the back of his head. "I was nervous. I didn't think I could do it in public but my mom convinced me to come try out."
"Really? Well, that's good. I'm going to vote yes. I'm sure the others will too. My name is Felix." The beaver put his hand out in a gesture of greeting.
The mustelid heartily shook his hand. "Nice to meetcha. You're not so bad at guitar yourself."
"Thanks. I've been playing since I was 6. My dad is a bit of a guitar nut too so he says I'm a chop off the old block or whatever." Standing next to the otter boy was making him feel a bit uneasy in his stomach.
The bigger boy smiled. "Cool. It's nice to find other kids into playing music. This is only til noon, right? Ya wanna hang out after?"
"Oh, um…sure. That sounds cool. What do you wanna do?" The smaller boy asked to see if the other had any ideas.
The otter thought about it for a second. "We could go to the Krewe and check out the live music there if ya want."
"Oh, sure. That sounds cool. I'm up for that." Felix wasn't sure why but he was feeling a bit nervous about going to the place with his new friend.
It wasn't much longer before Beatrice showed up again but Trey was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, shark boy is throwing a hissy fit so I think we should call it for today. He doesn't want to play anymore. But…Felix if you're cool with it I think we should invite Coop to the group. Sound keen?" She asked the beaver as she was certain the shark would agree.
The beaver nodded. "Oh, yeah definitely. Well hopefully, Trey can pick up his mood. We'll meet up again next weekend then?"
"Yeah, sounds good. We meet every Saturday and Sunday in the morning. Does that work for you Coop?" The dog girl folded her arms expectantly.
The biggest boy shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I'll ask my parents and let you all know at school."
Beatrice nodded and went back inside as she wanted to make sure that Trey wasn't having another one of his nervous breakdowns.
"I guess that means we can go now. Did you walk here? If so, I can take you to the Krewe on my bike." Felix suggested it to save some time.
Cooper nodded. "Ya, that sounds good."
Felix led them out of the garage and towards the front yard where he had put his bike earlier. Once they were close enough he held up the bike and angled his body over it so that the vehicle was leaning against one of his legs. The otter looked at it and noticed the two pegs at the rear of it. He waited until the smaller boy had it so that it was upright and climbed on each of the pegs, one foot at a time.
Cooper reached out and grabbed onto each of the other boy's shoulders. The moment he touched them, a gentle warmth spread from his hands over the teen's form. Felix hesitated a moment as he stood there idly. The bigger boy noticed the sudden moment of pause and tapped him a bit.
"Ya alright?" The otter asked him as he was a bit concerned about it.
The brown-furred boy snapped out of it. "Yeah, sorry."
The smaller boy began pedaling out of the yard and into the streets. He kept to the backroads to avoid traffic. It was a fairly nice day but it was pretty hot out. The burning light of the sun peered down upon them as they made their way from street to street. They eventually found their way to the boardwalk that looked right towards the beach. They could hear the crashing of the waves against the shoreline that was nearby.
As they got onto the boardwalk, foot traffic picked up so the beaver had to weave his way through it. The smell of salt mixed in with various sundries that were being cooked on outdoor grills. Some vendors lined the sidewalks, all of them vying for the attention of the furs who might spend their money with them. The whole place was bustling with activity and muffled chatter could be heard throughout.
They made their way through a corridor of shops. Various goods were strung up outside with some of them being hung up on wires for furs to look at. Many of the furs around were in various forms of swimsuits. The beaver and his friend looked oddly out of place amongst the otherwise short summerwear of everyone around them. As they got near the end of the boardwalk they arrived at the largest building. The sign in front indicated that they had arrived.
The Krewe was a club of sorts, a place where all the hipsters and furs considered themselves with it. On the outside of it, a purple awning overlooked the patrons who waited to get inside. At prime times of the night, the place required a reservation. Furs had to sometimes call days in advance to get a seat. Yet, this time of day there wasn't such an issue. Only a small crowd congregated outside.
The beaver brought them out to the front of the place. Like every place on the boardwalk, the Krewe had a bike rack since travel by car was restricted to the beach. Felix pulled up his bike to the rack and parked it. He waited until his friend was off until he joined him. The beaver locked up his bike and the two teens walked over towards the entrance. They could see a large bouncer pig woman standing outside managing the crowd.
Felix took Cooper by the hand and led him to an area in the back where the line snaked around. There was a rear entrance that he knew many people didn't take advantage of. The two stood there in the much smaller line. The fans and air conditioning from within cooled them off a bit as they stood there under the purple awning. They could hear the muffled sound of music playing from within.
"Next!" Another member of the bouncers called them forward.
The woman looked at them. They were much smaller than she was. Unlike the woman out front, she was a black bear. Her thick torso extended outward and made her look more imposing. She stepped to the side and allowed them within without saying a word. Felix took the other boy's hand in his own again and led him inside. The strobing lights of the inside of the building immediately fell upon them.
They walked forward together, neither of them seeming to mind the fact they were still holding hands despite one not leading the other. The tiles on the floor seemed to flash and dim with each passing of the light overhead. Some of the furs around them were dancing but the two teens continued to make their way to the back to where the live music group could be seen. Still, even from where they were the music group could be heard playing.
They made their way through some curtains past the dance floor. The music in this part of the building was much louder. There weren't as many furs around them in this area. Looking around they could see the people were hanging out around the corners and sides of the room. A large bar was situated at one end with a sign indicating "refreshments" overhead. Unlike many of the other clubs on the boardwalk, the Krewe accommodated younger guests.
In the back was the stage where they could see the live entertainment playing. The group there now was a group of three; a vocalist, a keytar player, and a fur on keyboard. Currently, they were playing a techno remix of some popular pop tunes. Neither boy had heard much techno before and yet the music appealed to them all the same. The two teens made their way to the end where the bar was.
"Ya want something to drink?" Cooper asked as he had brought a bit of money with him.
Felix stammered a bit. "S-sure. I'll take a soda or something."
The otter waved over the bartender who was surprised to see someone so young at the bar. Though there were no rules against it, the usual protocol of such places made it so that younger furs didn't approach him. The tall swan man looked at him with a cock-eyed side glance.
"What'll you have?" The tall white feathered man wiped a champagne glass in his hand.
The grey-furred boy chirped back. "I'll take two colas, please."
The bird man stepped away to use the soda tap, quickly making two glasses of cola for the two teens. Felix and Cooper sat next to each other at the bar, not bothering to separate despite there being more than enough empty seats for them to put space between them. It wasn't long before the barkeep came back up to them and held out the glasses for them to take. Cooper took out his wallet and paid for both of them without much thought of why he was doing it.
"Thanks, Coop." The beaver tipped his glass to the other teen.
The bigger boy held his glass out. "Cheers, yo."
They met glasses in the area between them. The slight chiming noise of glass hitting against each other before they began to sip at the drink. Felix looked over at the band which was now playing some old tunes he was only vaguely familiar with because of his parents. The otter paid their bill and finished his soda.
"Come on, let's dance yo…." The otter put his glass back on the bar table and held out his hand, expecting the other teen to take it.
Felix looked at it as if the offer surprised him. He placed his drink on the counter as he thought about it. A moment of hesitation passed over him. Butterflies began to churn in his stomach again. He had no idea why he was feeling so weirdly around the other boy.
"Ya coming yo?" The brown-furred boy looked at him expectantly.
The beaver nodded softly before finally giving in and taking the other teen's hand in
his own. Cooper and Felix walked together onto the stage that had been set up as a dance floor. The tunes had become a little more upbeat and modern now and they were spicing up some Post Malone hits. Neither of the two teens was that into hip-hop and yet the music seemed appealing to them even despite that.
The otter let go of his friend's hand and began dancing in the center of the floor as if he wanted the attention to be on him. One of the spotlights of the strobing lights over panned over him, seeming to put him in the limelight. Felix watched in interest as his focus honed in on the other teen's form. Watching the otter jive to the music, seeming to be rather down with it regardless of the music in question.
Felix stood there idly for a moment. Dancing was one of those things that he never perfected. He'd never danced much in the past and the idea of doing so publicly wasn't something that appealed to him. However, standing there and watching Cooper dance to his heart's content was interesting enough to him. His body pivoted back and forth as he stood there in a constant motion of posturing his body from side to side.
Cooper noticed the other boy was seemingly staring at him. He wanted Felix to join him. So instead of allowing it, he reached out and tugged the other teen so that he was closer. The two boys stood parallel to one another. The amount of other furs around them made it so that it was rather cramped and they were pushed even closer than they would otherwise need to have been with more space available.
"Come on and dance, yo. Just follow my moves. I'll go slow." The otter did gyrations in a much slower manner.
The smaller teen caved into his request and began moving his body, following the motions of his friend. Felix wants nothing more than to impress the other boy and try to win sway with him. The music soon sped up a bit and picked up on another hip-hop tune. This was the opportunity that Cooper was looking for. Throwing his body on the floor and beginning to break down. His father had taught him how to break dance in the past and this was his chance to show off a bit.
Felix began to stare again. He'd seen break dancing before but never in person. The rotations and kicking motions followed by him spinning on his butt, only to end up in a handstand before ultimately falling over himself. The whole ordeal lasted but several seconds but Felix was awe-inspired by it. The otter chuckled at his screwup before he tried again, this time able to pull off the feat without much issue.
The music soon began to slow down as Cooper tried to catch his breath. He'd outdone himself a bit. The bigger boy had a goofy smile about him and wobbled about as he had gotten dizzy from what he had just done. Felix again stood there dumbfounded by what he'd just seen. Finding himself again staring at the other boy. The otter again reached towards him and pulled him in, intent on getting him to dance again.
This particular song was a romantic one. One of those songs engendered to get people to dance together up close and personal. Cooper's parents had taught him that who he danced with didn't matter as long as he had fun. He pulled in the smaller boy and held his hands up in his own. Every occasional movement they made they almost knocked into another fur. The brown-bigger teen tried to be conscious of this and calculated his steps more carefully.
"Follow my lead and everything will be fine." The otter boy suggested with a friendly smile on his face.
Cooper moved his body forward and hack, his hand remaining upright as he continued to guide the motions of the smaller boy. The otter had an aura of confidence about him, unlike anything that Felix had seen before. His heart fluttered in his chest as he was spun around effortlessly by his new friend. Pushing forward in back as they rotated around in a miniature circle. The beaver stared into the eyes of the other boy, seeming almost lost in them.
The song soon changed to a more Latin-themed one. The dances became much more fluid and fast pace. Cooper was all too confident in his ability to Samba. The otter began kicking his legs back and forth, more rapidly moving his arms back and forth. Felix felt like he was just being dragged along for it and not having any idea what he was doing. Yet even still he was fine with it. Every so often, Cooper had to look back and forth to make sure either of them wasn't going to knock into someone again.
Cooper was something of a natural at dancing. He'd been through several dancing classes as a cub and his work showed. Felix just continued to play along awkwardly, trying to follow along as best he could. They continued dancing for some time until the beaver was just feeling a bit exasperated from it all. He decided to take a break and stepped off to the side of the dance floor, the other teen following him before long.
"You're one heck of a dancer, Coop…" Felix said panting trying to catch his breath from the spurt of physical activity.
The bigger boy wiped his forehead. "Thanks, I have taken a few dancing classes with my sister."
"Oh? Do you have a sister? I'm an only child myself." The beaver sat down on a nearby chair.
Cooper nodded. "Ya, she's much older than I am. She's in college now."
"Cool." The brown-furred boy picked up the drink he'd put to the side earlier.
The otter sat down next to him and cooled down for a bit. Despite there being air conditioning in the building, it was still rather warm. There were simply too many furs around to properly circulate air. It wasn't an issue that he was expecting. He began to think of an alternative to cool down.
"Ya wanna go to the beach and chill out? It's hot in here." He suggested as he assumed it would be cooler outside than it was inside.
Felix finished off the rest of his soda. "Yeah, sure. I agree it's kind of stuffy in here."
They both stood up and walked together back through the back entrance of the place. The number of furs around made it so that they had to carefully make their way through. Cooper took the lead once they were outside. The immediate difference in temperature was noticeable as the breeze made it more bearable. The otter took the lead, once again taking his new friend by the hand and leading him through the masses of furs around them.
As they got away from the club, the amount of people around was much less noticeable. The boardwalk was still littered with furs every which way but it was much less dense than the Krewe had been. Already within moments of leaving the building, both boys felt cooler than they had inside. They continued making their way past the boardwalk and onto the sandy boundary of the beach.
They walked a short distance onto the beach itself. The grainy sand kicked up each time they moved forward against the soles of their shoes. They could see and hear the waves crashing against the shoreline in front of them. The vast ocean spanned far into the distance with a few boats and ships dotting the horizon. The sun could be seen as it was lowering its fiery gaze ever lower in the skyline above.
Cooper soon stopped sat down and began taking his shoes and socks off. He hated nothing more than having sand get in his shoes and wasn't about to deal with that the rest of the day. He looked at his phone quickly to check the time as he knew he had to be home before dinner time. It seemed he had a bit of time before that and put it away. The otter noticed that his friend was still standing.
"Take off your shoes. The sand feels nice." He suggested making the other boy more comfortable.
Felix shrugged and joined him on the sand, untying his shoes as he wanted to do whatever the other boy wanted him to. The two sat next to each other again with their shoulders pressing against one another. Each boy put their shoes and socks to the side before extending their paws out against the sand. The soft and grainy texture of the ground crushed and spread against their sudden movement.
Felix looked into the horizon. The warmth in his heart was spreading. The familiar sensation of butterflies in his stomach remained ever-prominent within him. Still uncertain why he was feeling this way, he continued to try to ignore it. Neither teen said much for a while as they sat there and enjoyed the breeze against their fur. Each of them watched as the sun continued to seem to sink ever further into the sea before them.
The beaver looked over at his new friend. Cooper seemed to be enjoying himself. The same confident smile on his face that he'd been carrying all day. The soft glow of the sun reflected off some of the seaspray that spread around them. It almost looked as if the boy had a luminescent glow about him. Felix stared for a bit, seeming all too interested in looking at the otter instead of the natural phenomena in front of them.
A thought soon came to his mind. The desire to hold Cooper's hand again filled his mind. He slowly extended his hand out and placed it over the otter's hand, laying it flat on top. The otter looked over at him, unsure of what to make of it. The other teen's touch not bothering him but seeming to be an odd offering to him. He stared at it a moment but did not move his hand from underneath the others.
Felix looked into Cooper's eyes. Their gazes glanced at one another. The reflection of the rising moon could be seen by both of them. The beaver's heart was beating fast, for what reason he knew not. Instinctively the beaver leaned forward and planted a kiss right on Cooper's cheek and pulled back rather suddenly. The otter blushed a bit as he was set aback by the sudden show of affection but didn't seem that bothered by it.
"Sorry…" Felix looked down at the floor as if was ashamed of himself.
Cooper shrugged. "Eh, it's fine."
"You're not bothered by it?" The beaver sheepishly looked up at his friend.
The other shook his head.
"Nah. I know how it is to have a crush."
"I guess…but how did you know?" The smaller teen was shocked he seemed like he knew already.
The grey-furred boy hummed. "You've been staring at me and acting a little weird. It wasn't that hard to figure it out."
"Oh…well…sorry. I guess I kind of do…I dunno…haha." Felix looked the other way as he still wasn't sure what to make of the whole ordeal.
Cooper touched him on the shoulder. "I understand. I know what you mean. I've felt the same way before about someone."
"You have?" The smaller boy slowly looked back at the other teen.
The grey-furred teen stuck out his tongue at his friend. "Duh!"
"What did you do about it?" The beaver was at a loss for what to do as it was the first time he'd experienced such feelings.
The bigger boy thought about it for a second. "Well, feelings can't be ignored or whatever. You just have to figure out what you want and see how the other feels about it."
"Well…how do you feel about it then?" Felix's heart picked up pace in his chest as he said that.
Cooper gripped his hand over the other boys. "It doesn't bother me but….we just met. I think we should take it slow. I don't mind being friends or whatever but I think it's too early for anything more than that."
"So you mean I have a chance…with you?" The brown-furred boy was hopeful that was the case.
The bigger boy nodded and smiled. "Sure, you seem like a nice guy and you're fun to hang out with. I don't see why it couldn't work out if we hit it off."
"Cool, thanks. Can this stay between us though? I don't want the bandmates to know." Felix moved his hand off the other teens.
The otter shrugged. "Sure, whatever. Like I said it's not a big deal."
The two remained there together for some time until Cooper's phone alarm went off. He'd completely lost track of time as he was enjoying hanging out with his new friend. It was time to go home so they quickly returned to collect the beavers bike. Felix was guided to Cooper's home and dropped him off there. The beaver felt much better about coming clean even know he didn't still completely understand his feelings.
As they pulled in front of Cooper's home, Felix stopped so his friend could get off. The two stood there idly for a moment just looking at one another in a moment of awkward silence. The otter leaned in and hugged the other boy in a rather rushed moment of affection. The brown-furred cub smirked at him before running inside. Both of them waved to each other as Felix watched his friend go inside.
He began to feel warm inside as he stood there in a kind of disbelief. The sudden hug had caught him off guard and he wasn't expecting it at all. Still, he couldn't help but enjoy it. Wanting nothing more than to feel his embrace again. After a few moments of just standing around there looking at himself, Felix finally started the journey back to his house. Fortunately, he knew where he was so it wasn't hard to get back home.
On the way home, Felix thought to himself. The relief that had come with telling the truth had brought him some level of satisfaction. He had more fun that night with Cooper than he'd had with countless other friends in the past. It was like nothing else he'd experienced in his young life. He wanted nothing more than to do it again and replayed the night over in his mind as he fantasized about it a bit.
When Felix returned home, he had to explain himself to his parents. After all, he hadn't told them where he was going. After they heard about his day and how much he'd enjoyed hanging out with the newest member of the band, they weren't nearly as mad. However, that didn't stop them from giving him a lecture. They decided instead of punishing him that they'd let him off a warning telling him if he did it again he'd be grounded.
He had dinner with his parents and told them all about his night with Cooper. Even gushing a bit about the boy he had a crush on. Of course, they suspected nothing since they hadn't seen the two together just yet. Still, there was an inkling of doubt about it. After dinner, Felix showered and hit the hay. His mind was still focused on his crush. Wanting nothing more than to hang out with the otter again. Going to sleep early just in hopes of seeing him at school, earnest and eager for the day ahead of him.
