I finished the last assignment, saving my document a few times to be sure that this time I won’t lose  4 hours of work. It’s been tough as the exams were coming and I had a feeling that I truly do know nothing. It’s not like I didn’t study. The overload of information in the IT industry made me question if I fit this branch. 
I took a deep breath, standing up and approaching the window. It’s been raining since morning and the clock just hit the 9PM. I wiped out the glass with my thumb to see through. My friend’s parents were just coming back from shopping in this heavy rain. How troublesome for them, I thought. 
I came to the huge standing mirror in my room, staring at myself. 
My name is Alex and I am 21 years old Computer Science student. I am a huge nerd and I probably look like one, being thin, wearing glasses and having unfashionable clothing. Yep, that’s me. I’ve never had a proper girlfriend, so I am basically a virgin which makes me think if I’m really that much of a loser. Or maybe I just lack of confidence, I don’t know. Oh, I’m a wolf too.
Saturday’s tomorrow and I promised by best buddy Jake that I’ll visit him for a beer or two. He has this brand new gaming console FurStation 5 and after the recent teasers I got hyped up like a teenager girl for a high-school rock performance. I don’t play video games too much as I have my head wrapped around the studies. I really wish to get a good career as my parents both have good, stable jobs so I would love to make them proud of me. 
I noticed that I got a message on FurBook from Jake.
“Hey, sup man” – Jake
I was wondering what business could he have with me at this hour. I told him that I have a lot of work today and I probably won’t be free for this evening. The three dots signaling the incoming message kept their appearance.
“Just wanted you to know, my parents invited my cousin for a weekend and I got to take care of her, I hope you don’t mind” – Jake
A cousin, huh. 
“Sure, no prob man” – Alex
“Cool, cya tomorrow” – Jake
I didn’t know that he has a cousin. Jake usually doesn’t tell me much about his family, his parents are very religious and his whole family isn’t that rich. I guess I’ll take a shower and call it a day for now. 
When I was sleeping, I had quite vivid dreams about a person – a girl to be precise that I’ve never seen before. She was turned back to me so I couldn’t really recognize her face, but I heard a calm, girlish voice calling my name. When I got closer, I noticed that it’s a really young girl, a six-grader at most. She was wearing colorful pajamas. Just when I wanted to tap her shoulder, I woke up opened my eyes in a quick motion, trying to get back my consciousness to the real world. 
Who was that person?
I made myself a quick breakfast containing corn flakes, some fruit and milk. It was quite nutritious. I waved to my mom for goodbye and left the house. Jake was living just alongside. It was a small building, but a cozy one. I’ve really liked how his family kept the spring theme all around the house. The smell always reminded me of fresh flowers, wild conifers, a morning clearing indeed.
I knocked three times, waiting for answer. Their garden seemed forsaken for some time as grass lived on it’s own coexisting with a weed. 
The door opened. 
“Hey, man. Nice to see you, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” - Jake said, welcoming me inside. I wiped my shoes thoroughly, looking around. It’s the same old house I used to visit so many times. 
“Where are your parents?” - I asked, taking off my footwear.
“Ah, you know. They usually need to work on the weekend. Retail has a hard time nowadays, the prices are going up, a lot of businesses fall down.”
“Yeah, it’s a shame that they closed that grocery’s at the end of the street. I got along well with the owner.” 
He invited me to his room, the heavy metal music was waving in the air. Jake was a guitarist, he played in that band called “The Nyaners”, but I hardly ever see him exercising the guitar nowadays. 
“I’ll grab a cold one, give me a second.” He said, leaving the room with it’s door open.
On the stairs I noticed someone sitting down with headphones, probably listening to music. It was a young girl, probably around 12, wearing a violet skirt and dark over the knee socks and also a blue t-shirt. She was a fox, having long chestnut hair and piercing blue eyes. When she noticed me through the narrow crack between the door, her pupils widened and she blushed slightly, turning her eyes away. I instinctively smiled as it was a quite funny scene, but she seemed embarrassed enough to stand up and go upstairs. 
“Hey, are you bored already?” - Jake asked, jumping into his room having two ale beers in his hand, tossing me one. He looked at the direction I was staring at and then turned again to me.
“I see, you’ve already met Julia.” Jake pointed, having a seat on the couch. 
“Well, kind of. I just noticed her on the stairs.”
“She likes spending time there.” Jake nodded. “I’m not sure why she claimed that place, but I won’t ask. It’s not like she would tell me anyway.”
I took a second thought.
“So, is she your cousin? The one you mentioned.”
“Yeah. Her name’s Julia, she’s going to be twelve tomorrow. It’s going to be hell of a party. Her parents had a delegation trip, so we were asked to take care of her for a few days.”
“I thought she was supposed to stay just for the weekend.” I took a sip of my beer.
“Yeeaaah… Well, things got a little complicated in the morning. But don’t you worry, man. She spends 99% of the time in her room. It’s an old room we no longer use normally, but it’s perfect for guests.”
We exchanged some chit-chat about my studies and other daily life issues, while having a good time in between, playing the new Soccer game. We kind of liked to have a football game as a background for our discussions, while listening to good music. It gave me a working getaway from my duties and worries related to the university. 
“What the hell man, how did you do that?” Jake laughed, watching the replay of my incredible overhead kick goal. I just shrugged, giggling joyfully, having no idea how I get to score that one. 
Some time passed and my friend stated that he needs to go to the bathroom. Naturally, I just nodded in confirmation, while relaxing on his leather couch. It was so comfortable I could almost feel asleep… … … When I noticed a figure by the door. 
It was Julia, looking at me with her meek glance. She clearly wanted me to approach her for some reason and I saw no issues to not to. 
“Hey, I’m Alex!” - I smiled to her, but she blushed nervously and handed me a piece of folded paper. I was confused, but decided to open the message which stated shortly in a cute writing “Please, come upstairs.”. There was also an apple candy wrapped inside and while I investigated the paper, Julia disappeared, I’m not sure when exactly. 
I had a silent laugh inside, as something like this was a quite childish thing to do, but yet for some reason I found it sweet and adorable. I decided to follow her request, wanting to find a nice excuse for Jake when he will come back from the bathroom. 
I took a sit on the couch, while looking at the letter. It was surprisingly well-written, each word beautiful decorated with some kind of markers. The letter also had a distinct smell of strawberries. Did she use a perfume?
“Yo, I’m back. It took me sometime… Yeah, that burrito from yesterday wasn’t fresh for sure.” - Jake claimed, having a mixed expression. 
“It’s my turn now then.” I lied. 
“Aw,  Alex. This way I will never kick your ass in the next match.” He said disappointed. I answered with a laugh and left the room innocently. The bathroom was straight ahead, but my destination was a upper floor so I approached the stairs. I went up, wondering why I’m doing that, but one thing for sure – her behavior intrigued me.
There I saw her, slender Julia standing in front of the door, having her hands behind her back trying her best to not maintain eye contact with me. I was about a head taller than her so at that moment I felt really big. 
As I was standing in front of her, while emphasizing our size difference, she was trying to say something but came out as a quiet mumble. I cocked my head encouraging her with a simple ‘hm?’, but she seemed to drawn in deeper embarrassment. She swallowed her saliva and looked up at me. Now I had a good look on her face. She had a soft, gentle cheeks, narrow muzzle with emphasized vulpine lips, hardly opened. Her big eyes distinguished from the whole face, swimming in blue-ish colors, her pupils kept staring at me right now and I had a feeling that she was gazing right into my very soul. 
“Will you be my boyfriend?”
I stood in surprise, as I didn’t expect that kind of question. I chuckled slightly, which resulted in her confusion, but I immediately wanted to clarify myself.
“Aw, Julia. I’m a bit too old for you, why would you-”
“Please...” She said, biting her lip, while squishing a part of her skirt in her palm from nerves. She’s just a kid, so I may play her game a little. It’s not like it’s anything serious though. 
“Haha, okay… I will be your boyfriend.”
Julia widened her eyes and opened her mouth a little. 
“Really?” She asked for a confirmation.
“Yes. Really.” I answered hesitantly as I should probably not play with this kid’s feelings, but I just couldn’t simply refuse her pure heart.
Then she did something. 
Something that I didn’t expect either. She stood on her fingers to match my height and put a small kiss on my cheek, then turned around and entered her room without a word. It was the first time that I shared her blush as I’ve never had such a close contact with a female before. My heart started beating a little faster, but I needed to calm myself down quickly. Jake is probably waiting for me in his room. I came back, seeing his mixed expression. He asked me where had I been all this time and I needed to explain myself with another ‘burrito’-type excuse. 
Some time passed and when I looked at the clock I realized that I need to go back to my house already. 
“Hey, Alex. Maybe you’d like to come to the party tomorrow? I mean, Julia doesn’t know you very much, but I’m sure she would appreciate another guest. She doesn’t have many friends.”
My heart skipped a beat, when he mentioned his cousin. 
“Uhm… Sure. Why not. I’ve got nothing to do anyway.” I said.
“Perfect! The party starts at 2PM, but you can come earlier if you want to help. My mom would be grateful.”
We talked for a while and he walked with me to the front door. While I was wearing my shoes, I realized that I was observed by Julia, standing on the stairs. She was smiling. 
I had a weird feeling inside my heart that I couldn’t quite explain. Like tens of little ants crawling right over my belly. I wasn’t sure if I like this feeling. 
After I said goodbye, while walking on the sidewalk I opened the apple candy I got as a gift from Julia and slid it inside my mouth.
It was… bitter-sweet.