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One in the Stud Pups series.\n\nCorey hasn't done much of anything throughout high school but, after his graduation ceremony, everything is set to change forever... With the help of gorgeous bad boy Mitch, that is.\n\nHe's studied hard but forgotten to play hard and there's a time for firsts when one is of that age. Only, Corey isn't so sure about making the leap into college, having missed out on so much that, really, should have taken another partner in his life to learn and experiment. Cooking skills, or the lack of, are by the by, however, and it's something more intimate altogether that the husky laments being figuratively late to the party on.\n\nMitch, however, may be just the lad to help him out.\n\n\n\n---\n\n\n\nThis story is available to read worldwide via Smashwords and distributors! Thank you!\n\nSmashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/830098\n\n\n\nThank you for reading this tale! The follow up story in this series, First Times, will shortly be available.\n\nIf you would like to read these stories before they are published, please take a look at my Patreon where all drafts are available beforehand!\n\nhttps://www.patreon.com/arianmabe","description_bbcode_parsed":"Book One in the Stud Pups series.

Corey hasn't done much of anything throughout high school but, after his graduation ceremony, everything is set to change forever... With the help of gorgeous bad boy Mitch, that is.

He's studied hard but forgotten to play hard and there's a time for firsts when one is of that age. Only, Corey isn't so sure about making the leap into college, having missed out on so much that, really, should have taken another partner in his life to learn and experiment. Cooking skills, or the lack of, are by the by, however, and it's something more intimate altogether that the husky laments being figuratively late to the party on.

Mitch, however, may be just the lad to help him out.



---



This story is available to read worldwide via Smashwords and distributors! Thank you!

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/830098



Thank you for reading this tale! The follow up story in this series, First Times, will shortly be available.

If you would like to read these stories before they are published, please take a look at my Patreon where all drafts are available beforehand!

https://www.patreon.com/arianmabe","writing":"Stud Pups\nBook One\n\nThe Graduation Pup\n\n\n\n``Are you quite alright there?''\n\nThe Doberman leaned back against the wall, his graduation robes hanging down loosely around his legs. The end of high school left him with many choices ahead, though the canine with dark brown and black fur didn't seem to be at all perturbed by it. Around the back of the sports hall, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth as he eyed up the smaller husky with his head clasped between two paws.\n\n``Do I look `quite alright' to you?''\n\nThe husky's words were muffled, ears twitching as he pushed his grey snout further between his paws. There was no possibility of him hiding from the outside world, however, for much longer, no matter how hard he tried to sink away from it, folding into himself. The hem of his graduation gown, too dark for the summer sun, trailed on the ground, the husky rocking slowly back and forth as he tried to not to, not to do and not to be.\n\nHis presence there made little difference to the Doberman, his ears and tail cut to sharp points. It had been a fashion for a time but, due to the severity of the cut, one had to sign a waiver and be of a certain age before getting the cut. It was, of course, more painful the longer one waited, although it was the price that needed to be paid in order for the younger ones to not have the procedure performed without their will or consent.\n\nStill, perhaps there was something obscene about the mutilation of one's body, even if consensual, for the sake of fashion. The Doberman would have said, however, that his body was his and his alone.\n\n``Did you do something stupid on stage or something?'' The Doberman asked, an eyebrow cockily raised. ``The gig's over\n\n``Gig?'' That got the husky to raise his head from his paws, blue eyes suddenly sharp with the threat of tears. ``It that what we're calling graduation these days?''\n\nThe Doberman shrugged and flicked off the ash from his cigarette. \n\n``Does it matter what we call it? You go up on stage, shake a paw, walk off - that's it. It's no big deal to finish high school and everything changes from here anyway. Everything that was important here is not going to matter after all this is said and done. Grades, friends... They only serve to move you on to the next bit of your life. This is no different.''\n\nThe grey and white husky pulled back, studying the Doberman as if in a fresh light. The fur that he'd seen so many times about school, yet always from a distance, was a wordier sort, more eloquent too, than he'd expected from the rough and tumble canine of the school.\n\n``Who the hell are you?'' He demanded. ``And what do you think you're doing, coming back here and spouting off like that?''\n\nThe Doberman cocked his head to the side, dark brown eyes flickering with something that the husky couldn't quite put his finger on. Though he wasn't about to be offended by anything a little husky came out with: he'd heard it all and more and it wasn't going to get under his skin like it had before.\n\n``Mitchell, if you're a teacher. That's my name. Though, I guess, none of that lot are my teachers any more. Mitch. Mitch is better.''\n\nTossing his cigarette away, he ground it out beneath his shoe, the smart black leather gleaming in the sunshine that suddenly seemed out of place on a day that hadn't, perhaps, quite gone to plan for at least some.\n\n``And you,'' he continued on as if there had been no pause in his conversation. ``You are Corey.''\n\nThe husky started.\n\n``How do you know my name?''\n\nMitch rolled his eyes.\n\n``Top in every class, you keep yourself to yourself but don't kid yourself - everyone sees you. I think we were all waiting for you to have a mental breakdown or something.''\n\nCorey flinched as if he'd been stung, curly tail twitching higher up beneath the heavy, overbearing robe.\n\n``That's a real shitty thing to say, you know.''\n\n``Never figured you'd be so outspoken though,'' Mitch said with a chuckle, shaking his head and putting his paws back behind his neck, fingers interlinked. ``You always seemed so quiet...''\n\n``Yeah, well, maybe I was the only one here actually interested in studying.'' Corey rolled his eyes. ``Nobody thinks school is important anymore and half those actually going to college are just... Ugh...''\n\nHe trailed off, shaking his head.\n\n``Just...what?''\n\nMitch's eyes bored into the back of his head as he turned away, resolutely staring off across the sun-splashed playing fields. Somewhere, someone's family was playing ball, a posse of Golden Retriever's barking and calling out to one another as they played a friendlier game of soccer than would usually take place on the pitch. Instead of looking at the Doberman, his dark shadow looming over him without the canine actually doing anything to appear intimidating, Corey sighed and focused on the school, in the distance and yet still not.\n\n``Things are going to be different now,'' he said, his voice much smaller than expected. ``And I can't do anything to change that.''\n\n``Yup,'' Mitch said, his voice laden with a sigh. ``And, if you can't change it, maybe it's for the better too, don't you reckon? Everyone needs a fresh start from time to time. The New Year is usually it. A new semester. A new place. This could be good for everyone.''\n\n``Including you?''\n\nThe question was pointed and set even the self-assured Doberman on the back foot. He took a moment to collect himself, although his hesitation was duly noted by a pair of icy blue eyes that were too intelligent for their own good.\n\n``Yeah. Me too.''\n\n``Huh. Figures.'' There was no humour in Corey's voice, although his lips twisted as if he was trying to hide a smile behind a tougher exterior than what he'd normally portray. ``You were always up to shit here, weren't you?''\n\n``Are you really expecting me to give you a dignified answer to that one?''\n\nCorey sighed and shook his head.\n\n``No, not really. But it's true.''\n\n``It's true.''\n\nSomeone screamed for pure joy across the field, a white tiger throwing his much smaller sibling - or, at least, that was what Corey assumed him to be - up in the air, gown flapping madly around his legs. Against himself, the husky smiled, face lighting up if but for a split second. Mitch couldn't help but smile in return, although the smile he gave was of the thinner, tight-lipped variety as if his muzzle wasn't quite accustomed to the expression.\n\n``So, why are you so scared?''\n\nCorey started, shooting him a look.\n\n``Excuse me? Scared? What the hell is there to make you think I'm scared?''\n\nThe Doberman shrugged and folded his arms, shifting his position as he grew sore and stiff in one. He seemed to be a canine that couldn't stay still for long, though even the process of having a cigarette, drawing the smoke into his lungs slowly and surely, hadn't even slowed him down all that much. Many smoked for the calming effect, the relaxation that came along with it, although Corey had always reckoned that the other dog had smoked because, well, others thought it was cool. Not that Mitch seemed to have any trouble looking like the cool one about school.\n\nWould it still be seen as a rebellious act to smoke when school was good and over? But, no, that wasn't right. There was still the schooling of college to come. And what was to come with that? How was it to go? What was he supposed to do?\n\nCorey's chest tightened. Maybe he should have been the one pulling smoke into his lungs if only to calm himself down just a little bit.\n\n``No, I'm not scared,'' he said finally, though there was a distinct lack of conviction in his words. ``There's nothing to be scared of.''\n\n``Of course,'' Mitch said with a nod as if there was no doubt to be had about it. ``It's just the next step. And you're going to college so it's all planned out for you, so that's clearly not the problem here.''\n\nCorey pressed his lips together, all semblance of his smile gone. Mitch could have pressed the issue, but it would have been over the line to do so. They simply didn't have that kind of relationship. Frankly, they didn't have any kind of relationship at all.\n\n``You don't have to worry about that, at least,'' Corey said after an inordinately long pause. ``The stress of going away. You get your fresh start just by finishing high school. I suppose a `congratulations' is in order. So, yeah.''\n\n``What makes you think I'm not going to college?''\n\nThat set Corey back, his jaw dropping as if he had never contemplated the notion that Mitchell could have possibly, in any lifetime, considered going to college. There was only one question he could have asked.\n\n``Where are you going?''\n\n``Havonville.''\n\nCorey pushed himself up, standing and brushing off his gown, although he wasn't about to be able to cover his surprise from anyone, least of all the particularly astute Doberman.\n\n``That's a really good school! That's where I'm going!''\n\n``Really?'' The laugh that burst from Mitch's lips surprised both of them in its sincerity. ``I didn't figure that would be the first choice for you.''\n\n``Somewhere where no one knows me was high on my list of requirements,'' Corey said slowly, enthusiasm reluctant to fade as he looked the Doberman, not so subtly, up and down, as if he was trying to get the measure of him. ``If you're there, I guess that changes a bit.''\n\n``Nice to know my company is, as always, in high demand.''\n\nThey smiled, a genuine, empathetic smile that the other simply could not help but warm to. There was nothing snide or snarky in his tone, the quip a joke that bordered on the very edge of the familiar. It was a line they would continue to dance with for many years to come.\n\n``It may be nice to know someone there,'' Corey conceded. ``What are you studying there?''\n\n``Starting with Psychology and I'll have to see just where it goes from there. I figure I can minor in sports and perhaps go into coaching.''\n\n``Really? I would never have thought you interested in something like that. It doesn't seem your speed. But, then again,'' he said, reconsidering his words after already getting halfway through what he thought he wanted to say. ``Then again, I don't know you all that well.''\n\n``Funny thing what conversation does for you,'' Mitch observed. ``You actually get to know someone when, you know, you talk to them.''\n\n``Yeah.''\n\nMitch didn't need to ask Corey what he was studying. Everyone about school knew he was a fur for the hard sciences. He'd probably go on to be a doctor or a researcher in a laboratory, his whole life unravelling beneath his hind paws exactly as planned. But, sometimes, things simply didn't go to plan. A thread could come loose from that unravelling path, tearing off and off and off until the road lacked any substance at all, insubstantial and wavering at best.\n\nThose who looked like they had it all together were oftentimes the ones that didn't have it together at all. Pups like Mitch knew that better than others. Sometimes a little too much better.\n\n``So, what is it that's really worrying you about this college thing? Surely you know that it's an extension of school and that's it. It's going to be a learning experience but you'll have your family there with you.''\n\nCorey snorted.\n\n``Hah. That's a joke.''\n\nMitch blinked at him, though it took him a moment longer than any canine should have been strictly proud of to catch on.\n\n``A joke? That wasn't...oh...''\n\nHe trailed off awkwardly and coughed into his paw, hind paws shuffling as he shifted his position yet again. Though it was funny to see the Doberman so uncomfortable, the canine always appearing as if he was perfectly self-assured and comfortable in his own skin.\n\n``They didn't even come today,'' Corey growled. ``You got that, didn't you? Everyone else up there waving to their families and then there's me. No one. Nada. Nothing.''\n\n``But you did wave,'' Mitch said, brow furrowing. ``I saw you. I was only a few after you in line.''\n\nThe husky sighed, the weight of the world seeming to rest on his shoulders. Although it was something more that a simple shrug and roll of then could not push off so easily.\n\n``I didn't want to look like I was alone. So, I waved. But there was nobody there.''\n\n``I'm sorry.'' Mitch rubbed the back of his neck. ``That must really suck. And you worked hard to get where you did.''\n\nCorey snorted and waved his paw dismissively.\n\n``Sure. And I was mocked all the way through school for trying. Makes you wonder what the point in trying is.''\n\n``To get out of here. That's pretty much it.''\n\n``Yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right to me. Just about right.''\n\nFalling into oddly companionable silence, Corey leaned back against the brick wall beside Mitch, closing at least some of the space between them. It should have been too close for two furs who had hardly spoken to one another throughout the whole of high school and simply not known who the other was during middle school and earlier. They were not two whose paths had ever crossed or ever had reason to cross, being of entirely different worlds themselves.\n\nThough, sometimes, just sometimes, those worlds could collide. And, when they did, the result would either be explosive or simply spectacular. Which one their collision was to be, however, remained to be seen.\n\nThankfully, there were some things that could be done to ease the tension and, one could say, smooth things over, if only a little.\n\nCasting the husky a sidelong look, the Doberman sighed quietly, the coarse fabric of his gown rustling as he moved.\n\n``Here.''\n\nReaching beneath his gown, he drew a flask from an inner pocket, revealing a flash of a dark jacket - the leather one that he had rarely been seen without in recent years.\n\n``How the hell are you wearing a jacket under that too?'' Corey said with a shake of his head. ``Aren't you boiling?''\n\nMitch laughed and offered the flask, dark eyes glinting warmly.\n\n``Sure, but it's not one I like to take off. If there's no one else here for you, let us at least drink to your success. Top of the class in everything, right?''\n\nCorey had the good grace and perhaps the self-awareness too to flush, ducking his head shyly.\n\n``I tried. I wanted the grade. And I got it.''\n\nTaking the flask with a dubious look, he popped off the cap, turning the metal around between both his paws. He sniffed it cautiously and made a face at the stench within. One couldn't mistake the aroma of whisky, though it was sweetly oaky once one got over the initial harshness of the scent, powerful in the case of an unsuspectingly sensitive canine nose.\n\n``Alcohol? Here? You know, I've never drunk before.''\n\nWithout forcing, the Doberman smiled and half-shrugged, the insides of his ears tinted a slightly darker pink than normal, darkening the black just a fraction.\n\n``Now's as good a time as any to start. It's not something you want to start when you're feeling blue, trust me, even though this probably isn't the best kind of day for you. It's something to celebrate, to relax and enjoy.''\n\nConsidering it for a moment - it wasn't as if there was any element of force in being offered a flask of whisky, not with Mitch - Corey made his decision. Who was there to stop him, after all? And maybe the canine was right. He had graduated! Why wasn't that cause for celebration?\n\nIf no one else would celebrate his day with him, he could do it all on his own. Or maybe with Mitch. He didn't know. That would be okay too.\n\nBravely taking a sip, he winced as it burned down his throat, although the aftertaste was more pleasant than expected. He had heard that cheap liquor had a less pleasant aftertaste and felt harsh going down, but the burn was short-lived and settled into a deep warming that spread through his body slowly but surely. It was undoubtedly a better way to relax than dragging smoke into his lungs, although the effects were doubtful in the long-term.\n\nBut to hell with the long-term. Pursing his lips, the husky took another mouthful and then another, finding the taste more suitable to his palate than initially expected. And then there was a paw reaching into his line of sight, fingers curling around the flask and brushing his as he let out a tiny, yet involuntary, gasp.\n\n``Don't ever see drink as a way out, okay?'' Mitch said quietly, taking the flask back and taking a calculated mouthful from the neck. ``It's different when you do that. And I've seen too many, much older than me, use it for all the wrong reasons. You'll remember, won't you?''\n\nLicking his lips as the alcohol burned its way down his throat, Corey nodded slowly.\n\n``I won't ask.''\n\n``Thank you.''\n\nSome things didn't need to be said and, truly, were better left unsaid.\n\n``Oh... I don't know why I've started saying any of this to you,'' Corey sighed. ``It's all crazy. You don't want to be talking to me right now, do you? Everyone else is there with their families and you're...''\n\nHe paused, ears twitching.\n\n``You're here. Why are you here?''\n\nThe Doberman slid his gaze away.\n\n``Needed some space. But, yes, they are here. My family. And it's not that I don't want to be here talking to you, not now anyway. I was a bit put out when I saw you in my spot though. We're going to have to have words about that, you know.''\n\nCorey chuckled faintly. \n\n``Sorry. Didn't know anyone came back here.''\n\n``That's because you've never been out this way before. Always studying in every break. Don't you ever just sit back and take a break?''\n\n``What's that?'' Corey feigned curiosity, leaning forward with all the appearance of utter innocence brimming over in his eyes. ``A break? Can you eat it? Lord, oh Lord, what can this `break' ever be?''\n\nMitch burst out laughing and slapped his thigh, coughing and wheezing as he bent over at the waist. Corey couldn't help but giggle a little in return, tail wagging for the first time since the whole horrible day had begun. The whisky in his system soothed his frazzled mind that little he needed and he didn't even flinch when Mitch flung a friendly arm around his shoulder, tears of sheer, raw mirth glistening in the corners of his eyes as he fought and fought to get himself back under control.\n\n``Yes... A break,'' he wheezed, straightening, although he kept an arm around Corey. ``It's not that bad.''\n\nShuffling his hip up to Corey's, he swigged from his flask and groaned as the whisky slipped down, the Doberman clearly a little more accustomed to the taste and warmth than the husky was. There was no aroma of alcohol on him, however, so Corey could only determine that it was the first he'd had of the day in his very own form of congratulations. Though whether he was drinking to congratulate Corey or himself was another question entirely.\n\n``Maybe a break is just what I need,'' Corey reflected. ``The last months have been manic... I don't want to think about all the sleep I've lost. I never drank coffee before this round of exams.''\n\nHe shuddered as if recalling a particularly vile memory. The flask was pressed into his paw, but he turned it back to Mitch with a shake of his head.\n\n``No more, thanks. Maybe I should have taken a gap year. I need the mental pause.''\n\n``Yeah, but if you'd taken a gap year, you wouldn't be set up to go to college with me,'' the Doberman commented. ``And why wouldn't you want to go to college with your best buddy here, since we've been through so much in this hell of a school?''\n\nCorey snickered and shoved Mitch with his shoulder, jostling him as he imagined he would a friend. Not that he had had all that many friends throughout school and the ones he had had were fleeting at best.\n\n``Oh, yeah, because we've had so many deep and meaningful conversations here, haven't we? All those late nights with our heads together, studying and working, watching the sun come up...''\n\nHe looked up and Mitch's face was right there next to his, the Doberman's eyes intense and too close, a body in his personal space. His skin prickled, hackles raising on the back of his neck, although there certainly was no threat. The arm slung around his shoulders shifted suddenly as if Mitch had only himself just realised that he was still holding Corey to him like a very close friend.\n\nOr not quite a friend.\n\n``Heads together, you say?'' Mitch drawled slowly, breath tickling the husky's twitching, fluffy ear. ``And what would we be doing with our heads together then?''\n\nCorey swallowed and drew back, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.\n\n``Ah, just talking... Studying...'' He grunted and shrugged of Mitch's arm, reclaiming his personal space. ``It was a stupid thing to say.''\n\n``Hey, relax.'' Mitch smiled genuinely. ``You'll say many more stupid things in college too and none of them are going to matter in the big picture of it, trust me.''\n\n``Ergh...'' Corey shuddered. ``You think so? Don't we ever stop saying stupid things? Or does it just go on and on until we, well...die?''\n\n``Pretty much, yeah,'' Mitch confirmed, bobbing his muzzle sharply. ``You're going to fuck up cooking, get drunk when you don't mean to, miss a class, get sick, worry about your roommates, forget your notes, blurt out something you don't mean to say... That's college for you.''\n\nScoffing at himself, Mitch kicked a rock away from the brick building, the shade of it casting a longer and longer shadow across the two of them. If no one was looking closely, they may not have been there at all, hidden in the shadow while the bright, bright sunshine claimed the attention of the wider world.\n\n``Ah, to hell with it. That's life for you. You gotta accept that stupid shit happens and it doesn't matter.'' He met Corey's eyes. ``It really doesn't matter.''\n\nThe husky was silent for several minutes, listening only to the birds singing as he gave the Doberman's words time to sink in.\n\n``Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you made a big deal out of it,'' he laughed softly. ``But it's just all...''\n\n``So crazy?''\n\n``Yeah.'' Corey nodded. ``It's exactly it. I'm going to go and mess all of this up and it's going to happen whether I like it or not!''\n\nHe paced back and forth, paws behind his back as his lips pulled down into a frown that did not suit the natural masculinity of his otherwise kind muzzle.\n\n``I don't know how to cook! Mom always did that! And dad didn't cook either, just ordered takeout. What am I supposed to do with that? Sure, I suppose I don't have the money side to worry about, but there's still everything else! I have to adjust to living somewhere else and...I've never even moved house!''\n\nCorey gnawed at his lip, ears back and eyes narrowed with worry.\n\n``How am I going to sleep in a different bed? How am I going to do all of this on my own? I've only ever had to go to school and learn before - now there's a whole load more to add to the mix!''\n\n``It's going to be different,'' Mitch agreed, not even trying to argue with Corey that it wouldn't be that bad, for both of them knew the truth and there was no point bouncing words about like that without any honesty behind them. ``And there's going to be an awful lot to get up to speed with. But everyone's in the same boat as you.''\n\n``Not everyone!'' Corey threw his paws up. ``There're others who've had jobs and everything before and they've got a leg up on me, they know what's what and what they have to do. They've fixed their own meals and they've done stuff. I'm just an idiot that I actually paid attention to what I wasn't learning even if I was never allowed to learn and told not to every time I tried!''\n\nChest heaving, Corey shook his head and growled, the husky's ears twitching in every direction as if he didn't quite know what he should be paying attention too. Families milled about in the distance where his family should have been and Mitch's undoubtedly were, waiting for the Doberman to rejoin them, but Corey couldn't bring himself to consider the graduation that should have been a celebration. The whisky tickled the back of his throat, a lingering taste that made him bolder than he should, naturally, have been.\n\n``It's not that easy to get things done like that! I wanted to learn! Now, I'm expected to go off and do everything at college when I've never learned to do it for myself here! And half the furs at this school have already gotten it on and know what they're doing...''\n\nHe growled and slammed the fist of one paw into the other, despair flashing across his muzzle in a moment of weakness that he would never have usually revealed, at least not to a fur like the Doberman, the canine watching his every move and hanging on his every word.\n\n``How the hell am I supposed to compete with that? This would be my one shot at freedom and actually, I don't know, getting to know someone else like that and it's all going to shit before I've even gotten to college.''\n\nEnd teaser.\n\nThis story is available to read worldwide via Smashwords and distributors! Thank you!\n\nSmashwords: HYPERLINK \"https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/830098\" https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/830098 \n\nThank you for reading this tale! The follow up story in this series, First Times, will shortly be available.\n\nIf you would like to read these stories before they are published, please take a look at my Patreon where all drafts are available beforehand!\n\n HYPERLINK \"https://www.patreon.com/arianmabe\" https://www.patreon.com/arianmabe \n\n PAGE \\* MERGEFORMAT 1 \n\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"Stud Pups
Book One

The Graduation Pup



``Are you quite alright there?''

The Doberman leaned back against the wall, his graduation robes hanging down loosely around his legs. The end of high school left him with many choices ahead, though the canine with dark brown and black fur didn't seem to be at all perturbed by it. Around the back of the sports hall, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth as he eyed up the smaller husky with his head clasped between two paws.

``Do I look `quite alright' to you?''

The husky's words were muffled, ears twitching as he pushed his grey snout further between his paws. There was no possibility of him hiding from the outside world, however, for much longer, no matter how hard he tried to sink away from it, folding into himself. The hem of his graduation gown, too dark for the summer sun, trailed on the ground, the husky rocking slowly back and forth as he tried to not to, not to do and not to be.

His presence there made little difference to the Doberman, his ears and tail cut to sharp points. It had been a fashion for a time but, due to the severity of the cut, one had to sign a waiver and be of a certain age before getting the cut. It was, of course, more painful the longer one waited, although it was the price that needed to be paid in order for the younger ones to not have the procedure performed without their will or consent.

Still, perhaps there was something obscene about the mutilation of one's body, even if consensual, for the sake of fashion. The Doberman would have said, however, that his body was his and his alone.

``Did you do something stupid on stage or something?'' The Doberman asked, an eyebrow cockily raised. ``The gig's over

``Gig?'' That got the husky to raise his head from his paws, blue eyes suddenly sharp with the threat of tears. ``It that what we're calling graduation these days?''

The Doberman shrugged and flicked off the ash from his cigarette.

``Does it matter what we call it? You go up on stage, shake a paw, walk off - that's it. It's no big deal to finish high school and everything changes from here anyway. Everything that was important here is not going to matter after all this is said and done. Grades, friends... They only serve to move you on to the next bit of your life. This is no different.''

The grey and white husky pulled back, studying the Doberman as if in a fresh light. The fur that he'd seen so many times about school, yet always from a distance, was a wordier sort, more eloquent too, than he'd expected from the rough and tumble canine of the school.

``Who the hell are you?'' He demanded. ``And what do you think you're doing, coming back here and spouting off like that?''

The Doberman cocked his head to the side, dark brown eyes flickering with something that the husky couldn't quite put his finger on. Though he wasn't about to be offended by anything a little husky came out with: he'd heard it all and more and it wasn't going to get under his skin like it had before.

``Mitchell, if you're a teacher. That's my name. Though, I guess, none of that lot are my teachers any more. Mitch. Mitch is better.''

Tossing his cigarette away, he ground it out beneath his shoe, the smart black leather gleaming in the sunshine that suddenly seemed out of place on a day that hadn't, perhaps, quite gone to plan for at least some.

``And you,'' he continued on as if there had been no pause in his conversation. ``You are Corey.''

The husky started.

``How do you know my name?''

Mitch rolled his eyes.

``Top in every class, you keep yourself to yourself but don't kid yourself - everyone sees you. I think we were all waiting for you to have a mental breakdown or something.''

Corey flinched as if he'd been stung, curly tail twitching higher up beneath the heavy, overbearing robe.

``That's a real shitty thing to say, you know.''

``Never figured you'd be so outspoken though,'' Mitch said with a chuckle, shaking his head and putting his paws back behind his neck, fingers interlinked. ``You always seemed so quiet...''

``Yeah, well, maybe I was the only one here actually interested in studying.'' Corey rolled his eyes. ``Nobody thinks school is important anymore and half those actually going to college are just... Ugh...''

He trailed off, shaking his head.

``Just...what?''

Mitch's eyes bored into the back of his head as he turned away, resolutely staring off across the sun-splashed playing fields. Somewhere, someone's family was playing ball, a posse of Golden Retriever's barking and calling out to one another as they played a friendlier game of soccer than would usually take place on the pitch. Instead of looking at the Doberman, his dark shadow looming over him without the canine actually doing anything to appear intimidating, Corey sighed and focused on the school, in the distance and yet still not.

``Things are going to be different now,'' he said, his voice much smaller than expected. ``And I can't do anything to change that.''

``Yup,'' Mitch said, his voice laden with a sigh. ``And, if you can't change it, maybe it's for the better too, don't you reckon? Everyone needs a fresh start from time to time. The New Year is usually it. A new semester. A new place. This could be good for everyone.''

``Including you?''

The question was pointed and set even the self-assured Doberman on the back foot. He took a moment to collect himself, although his hesitation was duly noted by a pair of icy blue eyes that were too intelligent for their own good.

``Yeah. Me too.''

``Huh. Figures.'' There was no humour in Corey's voice, although his lips twisted as if he was trying to hide a smile behind a tougher exterior than what he'd normally portray. ``You were always up to shit here, weren't you?''

``Are you really expecting me to give you a dignified answer to that one?''

Corey sighed and shook his head.

``No, not really. But it's true.''

``It's true.''

Someone screamed for pure joy across the field, a white tiger throwing his much smaller sibling - or, at least, that was what Corey assumed him to be - up in the air, gown flapping madly around his legs. Against himself, the husky smiled, face lighting up if but for a split second. Mitch couldn't help but smile in return, although the smile he gave was of the thinner, tight-lipped variety as if his muzzle wasn't quite accustomed to the expression.

``So, why are you so scared?''

Corey started, shooting him a look.

``Excuse me? Scared? What the hell is there to make you think I'm scared?''

The Doberman shrugged and folded his arms, shifting his position as he grew sore and stiff in one. He seemed to be a canine that couldn't stay still for long, though even the process of having a cigarette, drawing the smoke into his lungs slowly and surely, hadn't even slowed him down all that much. Many smoked for the calming effect, the relaxation that came along with it, although Corey had always reckoned that the other dog had smoked because, well, others thought it was cool. Not that Mitch seemed to have any trouble looking like the cool one about school.

Would it still be seen as a rebellious act to smoke when school was good and over? But, no, that wasn't right. There was still the schooling of college to come. And what was to come with that? How was it to go? What was he supposed to do?

Corey's chest tightened. Maybe he should have been the one pulling smoke into his lungs if only to calm himself down just a little bit.

``No, I'm not scared,'' he said finally, though there was a distinct lack of conviction in his words. ``There's nothing to be scared of.''

``Of course,'' Mitch said with a nod as if there was no doubt to be had about it. ``It's just the next step. And you're going to college so it's all planned out for you, so that's clearly not the problem here.''

Corey pressed his lips together, all semblance of his smile gone. Mitch could have pressed the issue, but it would have been over the line to do so. They simply didn't have that kind of relationship. Frankly, they didn't have any kind of relationship at all.

``You don't have to worry about that, at least,'' Corey said after an inordinately long pause. ``The stress of going away. You get your fresh start just by finishing high school. I suppose a `congratulations' is in order. So, yeah.''

``What makes you think I'm not going to college?''

That set Corey back, his jaw dropping as if he had never contemplated the notion that Mitchell could have possibly, in any lifetime, considered going to college. There was only one question he could have asked.

``Where are you going?''

``Havonville.''

Corey pushed himself up, standing and brushing off his gown, although he wasn't about to be able to cover his surprise from anyone, least of all the particularly astute Doberman.

``That's a really good school! That's where I'm going!''

``Really?'' The laugh that burst from Mitch's lips surprised both of them in its sincerity. ``I didn't figure that would be the first choice for you.''

``Somewhere where no one knows me was high on my list of requirements,'' Corey said slowly, enthusiasm reluctant to fade as he looked the Doberman, not so subtly, up and down, as if he was trying to get the measure of him. ``If you're there, I guess that changes a bit.''

``Nice to know my company is, as always, in high demand.''

They smiled, a genuine, empathetic smile that the other simply could not help but warm to. There was nothing snide or snarky in his tone, the quip a joke that bordered on the very edge of the familiar. It was a line they would continue to dance with for many years to come.

``It may be nice to know someone there,'' Corey conceded. ``What are you studying there?''

``Starting with Psychology and I'll have to see just where it goes from there. I figure I can minor in sports and perhaps go into coaching.''

``Really? I would never have thought you interested in something like that. It doesn't seem your speed. But, then again,'' he said, reconsidering his words after already getting halfway through what he thought he wanted to say. ``Then again, I don't know you all that well.''

``Funny thing what conversation does for you,'' Mitch observed. ``You actually get to know someone when, you know, you talk to them.''

``Yeah.''

Mitch didn't need to ask Corey what he was studying. Everyone about school knew he was a fur for the hard sciences. He'd probably go on to be a doctor or a researcher in a laboratory, his whole life unravelling beneath his hind paws exactly as planned. But, sometimes, things simply didn't go to plan. A thread could come loose from that unravelling path, tearing off and off and off until the road lacked any substance at all, insubstantial and wavering at best.

Those who looked like they had it all together were oftentimes the ones that didn't have it together at all. Pups like Mitch knew that better than others. Sometimes a little too much better.

``So, what is it that's really worrying you about this college thing? Surely you know that it's an extension of school and that's it. It's going to be a learning experience but you'll have your family there with you.''

Corey snorted.

``Hah. That's a joke.''

Mitch blinked at him, though it took him a moment longer than any canine should have been strictly proud of to catch on.

``A joke? That wasn't...oh...''

He trailed off awkwardly and coughed into his paw, hind paws shuffling as he shifted his position yet again. Though it was funny to see the Doberman so uncomfortable, the canine always appearing as if he was perfectly self-assured and comfortable in his own skin.

``They didn't even come today,'' Corey growled. ``You got that, didn't you? Everyone else up there waving to their families and then there's me. No one. Nada. Nothing.''

``But you did wave,'' Mitch said, brow furrowing. ``I saw you. I was only a few after you in line.''

The husky sighed, the weight of the world seeming to rest on his shoulders. Although it was something more that a simple shrug and roll of then could not push off so easily.

``I didn't want to look like I was alone. So, I waved. But there was nobody there.''

``I'm sorry.'' Mitch rubbed the back of his neck. ``That must really suck. And you worked hard to get where you did.''

Corey snorted and waved his paw dismissively.

``Sure. And I was mocked all the way through school for trying. Makes you wonder what the point in trying is.''

``To get out of here. That's pretty much it.''

``Yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right to me. Just about right.''

Falling into oddly companionable silence, Corey leaned back against the brick wall beside Mitch, closing at least some of the space between them. It should have been too close for two furs who had hardly spoken to one another throughout the whole of high school and simply not known who the other was during middle school and earlier. They were not two whose paths had ever crossed or ever had reason to cross, being of entirely different worlds themselves.

Though, sometimes, just sometimes, those worlds could collide. And, when they did, the result would either be explosive or simply spectacular. Which one their collision was to be, however, remained to be seen.

Thankfully, there were some things that could be done to ease the tension and, one could say, smooth things over, if only a little.

Casting the husky a sidelong look, the Doberman sighed quietly, the coarse fabric of his gown rustling as he moved.

``Here.''

Reaching beneath his gown, he drew a flask from an inner pocket, revealing a flash of a dark jacket - the leather one that he had rarely been seen without in recent years.

``How the hell are you wearing a jacket under that too?'' Corey said with a shake of his head. ``Aren't you boiling?''

Mitch laughed and offered the flask, dark eyes glinting warmly.

``Sure, but it's not one I like to take off. If there's no one else here for you, let us at least drink to your success. Top of the class in everything, right?''

Corey had the good grace and perhaps the self-awareness too to flush, ducking his head shyly.

``I tried. I wanted the grade. And I got it.''

Taking the flask with a dubious look, he popped off the cap, turning the metal around between both his paws. He sniffed it cautiously and made a face at the stench within. One couldn't mistake the aroma of whisky, though it was sweetly oaky once one got over the initial harshness of the scent, powerful in the case of an unsuspectingly sensitive canine nose.

``Alcohol? Here? You know, I've never drunk before.''

Without forcing, the Doberman smiled and half-shrugged, the insides of his ears tinted a slightly darker pink than normal, darkening the black just a fraction.

``Now's as good a time as any to start. It's not something you want to start when you're feeling blue, trust me, even though this probably isn't the best kind of day for you. It's something to celebrate, to relax and enjoy.''

Considering it for a moment - it wasn't as if there was any element of force in being offered a flask of whisky, not with Mitch - Corey made his decision. Who was there to stop him, after all? And maybe the canine was right. He had graduated! Why wasn't that cause for celebration?

If no one else would celebrate his day with him, he could do it all on his own. Or maybe with Mitch. He didn't know. That would be okay too.

Bravely taking a sip, he winced as it burned down his throat, although the aftertaste was more pleasant than expected. He had heard that cheap liquor had a less pleasant aftertaste and felt harsh going down, but the burn was short-lived and settled into a deep warming that spread through his body slowly but surely. It was undoubtedly a better way to relax than dragging smoke into his lungs, although the effects were doubtful in the long-term.

But to hell with the long-term. Pursing his lips, the husky took another mouthful and then another, finding the taste more suitable to his palate than initially expected. And then there was a paw reaching into his line of sight, fingers curling around the flask and brushing his as he let out a tiny, yet involuntary, gasp.

``Don't ever see drink as a way out, okay?'' Mitch said quietly, taking the flask back and taking a calculated mouthful from the neck. ``It's different when you do that. And I've seen too many, much older than me, use it for all the wrong reasons. You'll remember, won't you?''

Licking his lips as the alcohol burned its way down his throat, Corey nodded slowly.

``I won't ask.''

``Thank you.''

Some things didn't need to be said and, truly, were better left unsaid.

``Oh... I don't know why I've started saying any of this to you,'' Corey sighed. ``It's all crazy. You don't want to be talking to me right now, do you? Everyone else is there with their families and you're...''

He paused, ears twitching.

``You're here. Why are you here?''

The Doberman slid his gaze away.

``Needed some space. But, yes, they are here. My family. And it's not that I don't want to be here talking to you, not now anyway. I was a bit put out when I saw you in my spot though. We're going to have to have words about that, you know.''

Corey chuckled faintly.

``Sorry. Didn't know anyone came back here.''

``That's because you've never been out this way before. Always studying in every break. Don't you ever just sit back and take a break?''

``What's that?'' Corey feigned curiosity, leaning forward with all the appearance of utter innocence brimming over in his eyes. ``A break? Can you eat it? Lord, oh Lord, what can this `break' ever be?''

Mitch burst out laughing and slapped his thigh, coughing and wheezing as he bent over at the waist. Corey couldn't help but giggle a little in return, tail wagging for the first time since the whole horrible day had begun. The whisky in his system soothed his frazzled mind that little he needed and he didn't even flinch when Mitch flung a friendly arm around his shoulder, tears of sheer, raw mirth glistening in the corners of his eyes as he fought and fought to get himself back under control.

``Yes... A break,'' he wheezed, straightening, although he kept an arm around Corey. ``It's not that bad.''

Shuffling his hip up to Corey's, he swigged from his flask and groaned as the whisky slipped down, the Doberman clearly a little more accustomed to the taste and warmth than the husky was. There was no aroma of alcohol on him, however, so Corey could only determine that it was the first he'd had of the day in his very own form of congratulations. Though whether he was drinking to congratulate Corey or himself was another question entirely.

``Maybe a break is just what I need,'' Corey reflected. ``The last months have been manic... I don't want to think about all the sleep I've lost. I never drank coffee before this round of exams.''

He shuddered as if recalling a particularly vile memory. The flask was pressed into his paw, but he turned it back to Mitch with a shake of his head.

``No more, thanks. Maybe I should have taken a gap year. I need the mental pause.''

``Yeah, but if you'd taken a gap year, you wouldn't be set up to go to college with me,'' the Doberman commented. ``And why wouldn't you want to go to college with your best buddy here, since we've been through so much in this hell of a school?''

Corey snickered and shoved Mitch with his shoulder, jostling him as he imagined he would a friend. Not that he had had all that many friends throughout school and the ones he had had were fleeting at best.

``Oh, yeah, because we've had so many deep and meaningful conversations here, haven't we? All those late nights with our heads together, studying and working, watching the sun come up...''

He looked up and Mitch's face was right there next to his, the Doberman's eyes intense and too close, a body in his personal space. His skin prickled, hackles raising on the back of his neck, although there certainly was no threat. The arm slung around his shoulders shifted suddenly as if Mitch had only himself just realised that he was still holding Corey to him like a very close friend.

Or not quite a friend.

``Heads together, you say?'' Mitch drawled slowly, breath tickling the husky's twitching, fluffy ear. ``And what would we be doing with our heads together then?''

Corey swallowed and drew back, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

``Ah, just talking... Studying...'' He grunted and shrugged of Mitch's arm, reclaiming his personal space. ``It was a stupid thing to say.''

``Hey, relax.'' Mitch smiled genuinely. ``You'll say many more stupid things in college too and none of them are going to matter in the big picture of it, trust me.''

``Ergh...'' Corey shuddered. ``You think so? Don't we ever stop saying stupid things? Or does it just go on and on until we, well...die?''

``Pretty much, yeah,'' Mitch confirmed, bobbing his muzzle sharply. ``You're going to fuck up cooking, get drunk when you don't mean to, miss a class, get sick, worry about your roommates, forget your notes, blurt out something you don't mean to say... That's college for you.''

Scoffing at himself, Mitch kicked a rock away from the brick building, the shade of it casting a longer and longer shadow across the two of them. If no one was looking closely, they may not have been there at all, hidden in the shadow while the bright, bright sunshine claimed the attention of the wider world.

``Ah, to hell with it. That's life for you. You gotta accept that stupid shit happens and it doesn't matter.'' He met Corey's eyes. ``It really doesn't matter.''

The husky was silent for several minutes, listening only to the birds singing as he gave the Doberman's words time to sink in.

``Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you made a big deal out of it,'' he laughed softly. ``But it's just all...''

``So crazy?''

``Yeah.'' Corey nodded. ``It's exactly it. I'm going to go and mess all of this up and it's going to happen whether I like it or not!''

He paced back and forth, paws behind his back as his lips pulled down into a frown that did not suit the natural masculinity of his otherwise kind muzzle.

``I don't know how to cook! Mom always did that! And dad didn't cook either, just ordered takeout. What am I supposed to do with that? Sure, I suppose I don't have the money side to worry about, but there's still everything else! I have to adjust to living somewhere else and...I've never even moved house!''

Corey gnawed at his lip, ears back and eyes narrowed with worry.

``How am I going to sleep in a different bed? How am I going to do all of this on my own? I've only ever had to go to school and learn before - now there's a whole load more to add to the mix!''

``It's going to be different,'' Mitch agreed, not even trying to argue with Corey that it wouldn't be that bad, for both of them knew the truth and there was no point bouncing words about like that without any honesty behind them. ``And there's going to be an awful lot to get up to speed with. But everyone's in the same boat as you.''

``Not everyone!'' Corey threw his paws up. ``There're others who've had jobs and everything before and they've got a leg up on me, they know what's what and what they have to do. They've fixed their own meals and they've done stuff. I'm just an idiot that I actually paid attention to what I wasn't learning even if I was never allowed to learn and told not to every time I tried!''

Chest heaving, Corey shook his head and growled, the husky's ears twitching in every direction as if he didn't quite know what he should be paying attention too. Families milled about in the distance where his family should have been and Mitch's undoubtedly were, waiting for the Doberman to rejoin them, but Corey couldn't bring himself to consider the graduation that should have been a celebration. The whisky tickled the back of his throat, a lingering taste that made him bolder than he should, naturally, have been.

``It's not that easy to get things done like that! I wanted to learn! Now, I'm expected to go off and do everything at college when I've never learned to do it for myself here! And half the furs at this school have already gotten it on and know what they're doing...''

He growled and slammed the fist of one paw into the other, despair flashing across his muzzle in a moment of weakness that he would never have usually revealed, at least not to a fur like the Doberman, the canine watching his every move and hanging on his every word.

``How the hell am I supposed to compete with that? This would be my one shot at freedom and actually, I don't know, getting to know someone else like that and it's all going to shit before I've even gotten to college.''

End teaser.

This story is available to read worldwide via Smashwords and distributors! Thank you!

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