Furry Knight Ch. 01

This is a re-do of my story from my old profile that I can no longer get into. The old story was called "Knight in Shining..." I have redone this story with better writing, details, and development. It is much longer now. So, if you've read the old one, I would appreciate reading this one and giving me feedback on improvements or critiques. Thanks, and enjoy! :) -LD02

*****

Kasen had given up on concentrating while in this class. What was the point? He just ended up failing, anyway. At least this way he didn't get a headache from trying to focus on what Mrs. Cutte was saying while at the same time acutely aware of every minute movement of the girl two rows ahead of him and to his right. It was the perfect angle. He didn't usually have to worry about being caught, so he was able to simply sit and stare for an hour. He occasionally felt like a creep, because he watched so intently. However, after 3 years of doing this, he was fairly good at not being terribly obvious to anyone not paying much attention.

His lips twitched as he watched her head tilt to the left side as if she was trying to view her work from a different angle. He glanced at her notebook. Fuck, even her handwriting was perfect. It was girly with an edge. She always wrote in cursive, making pretty loops and dips out of mundane letters. Yet there was a sharpness to the way some letters were squared off or abrupt.

Kasen allowed his eyes to trail across her for the millionth time. From her slender pianist fingers which would fit perfectly between his, up her sweater clad arms and slender shoulders that he ached to embrace, to the graceful curve of her long neck that he wanted nothing more than to bury his face in, past the tendrilous curls of her fiery hair he had counted every day- always getting a different sum, finally landing back on the abstract view of her face he could only partially see from where he sat. It didn't matter. He had studied her face enough that he could paint it perfectly from memory. It was the face that consumed and dominated his dreams.

He had just started to let his imagination run wild when he realized she had turned. He panicked. Was she looking at him? Shit! She was. Well, was he looking back at her? Of course he was! He couldn't help it! He was memorized by her wintry blue eyes, the color of which he could never quite get right in his paintings. He could never do her justice. His breathing had stopped completely by now, and he held completely still as if she were a wooded animal that would startle at the slightest movement. When she gave him a slightly awkward smile, he seriously considered fainting.

She flicked her eyes momentarily to the girl sitting directly to Kasen's left, clearly sending an unintelligible psychic message. She looked back to him and gave him a slightly bigger, more amused, smile before turning back to her notes. The instant her eyes weren't gazing into his soul anymore, Kasen felt his heart kick back up and he allowed himself to breathe again.

"Cleanup in Kasen-land." He heard Macy Jones say beside him. He whipped his head in her direction. Apparently, his little episode hadn't escaped everyone's observation. He looked at her slightly confused. She giggled with only slight pity. "Enough with the puppy dog eyes and the drooling, loverboy. I might just vomit." He knew Macy well enough to know she was joking, and he couldn't help but grin back at her. He liked Macy. She was strong and stubborn. She was the kind of girl who could knock your head off without thinking twice about it if you deserved it, yet she was always quick to smile and slow to judge. If you landed Macy as a friend, she would be loyal forever. Luckily, the two girls were best friends. They were almost always together.

Kasen had known Macy for almost all of his life. Granted, growing up in such a small town everyone knew everyone from kindergarten, but Macy had been his neighbor for 10 years. However, last summer Macy and her family had moved to the other side of town. She never talked about it, and not many people knew, but Macy's family didn't have a lot of money. They weren't poor, necessarily, but Macy could never afford expensive clothing or even her own car during the time when everyone was getting their license and spending all of their time driving around in their new rides. It had taken Macy two years to save enough money to buy herself a used car.

Neither of her parents had gone to college when they were young, so they were left with little skill for anything that paid better than 30,000 a year for most of their lives, leaving them with zero savings. When Macy was a little girl her mother had gone back to school, and had gotten her NA license. However, just as her mom was starting to make some better money at the hospital, Mr. Jones had an accident at his construction job, falling off a two story roof and injuring his back. Of course that's how life always goes, right? So, her parents had had to find a cheaper home, as they could no longer afford the one next to Kasen's, because Mr. Jones' back had progressively gotten worse over the years until his spine was so damaged that he could no longer work.

The only reason Kasen knew all of this was because his mother and Macy's mother had gotten very drunk together about a week before they moved, some kind of goodbye party that involved only them, and Mrs. Jones had told his mom everything.

Anyone else who asked got the practiced answer about it being a smaller house but bigger yard that was closer to the school and hospital. Macy and her family were very proud people, so nobody would ever know.

Kasen and Macy had a slightly complicated relationship. They weren't friends, exactly, but they did have a level of respect and affection for each other.

*________________________*

About six years ago, when they were in sixth grade, some kids had gotten in the habit of following Macy home from school, teasing her about her weight. She wasn't fat by any definition, but she had hit puberty a bit early, giving her curvy hips and an increased chest. She had gone soft in areas that most kids were still lanky. The kids would tease her as she walked on, doing her best to ignore them.

Kasen's dad had always driven him to and from school, so he had never witnessed this, but one day he had gotten sick. Nothing serious, but enough of a problem to keep him home from school. When 3:30 rolled around, Kasen was feeling much better, and he heard them coming down the street. Looking out his window, Kasen watched Macy run into her house, head held high as the nasty kids continued laughing on the sidewalk before continuing on their way.

The next day Kasen told his dad that he didn't need a ride home, because he wanted to walk with a friend. That afternoon, he followed Macy at a distance. About two blocks from home, he noticed a few boys emerge from a side street. They immediately yelled something at Macy and began walking in a group close behind her, continuing to call her names and laugh at each other. Macy didn't react at all. She continued walking at her usual pace, ignoring them. Kasen was very impressed with her maturity, never allowing the boys to see how they affected her for a second.

Suddenly, one boy got ballsy. He skipped up to her, pinching her sides and looking back at his friends for validation. Of course they all laughed and cheered him on. Kasen waited for Macy for react. Instead, she didn't even look at him. She moved to the other side of the sidewalk and continues on, looking more proud, if anything. At her lack of a rise, the boy looked back and forth between her and his friends a couple of times before once again getting closer to her, again. Kasen had grown steadily more furious as they messed with Macy, but he had held himself back, knowing Macy didn't need him to defend her. She could do that herself- she was known for giving black eyes for far less.

However, as he watched the boys hand reach out and pinch Macy's growing breast and he heard her cry out for the first time as she tripped while trying to get away from him, falling to the ground beside the sidewalk, Kasen saw red. He easily closed the space between himself and the group, pushing one of them forcefully to the hard sidewalk before grabbing the offending boy's shoulder, spinning him, and punching him. He felt the boy's nose give way with a satisfying crunch before he fell next to Macy on the ground. Kasen didn't stop there. He put his knee between the boy's back, effectively shoving his face into the dirt, and pulling his arms far behind him at a dangerous angle.

"Apologize!" He heard himself shout. The boy stuttered, spitting blood and grass out of his mouth before yelling.

"Ow!! You're hurting me!"

"Not so funny, is it? Now you know how she felt. Now, apologize!" He yanked at the boys arm slightly, enough for the boy to scream out again, ending in muffled sob.

"AH! I'm sorry!"

"Kasen." The soft voice froze him. He glanced up at Macy who looked scared. Her eyes were wide, and she looked genuinely worried for the boy on the ground. She had sat up on her knees and had put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at him pleadingly before looking back down at the boy. "I'm okay. Look, I'm fine." She gestured to herself, showing that the fall hadn't hurt her in any way.

He looked back at the boy who was no longer even attempting to cover his cries. Seeing Macy's gentle eyes, his anger dissipated. If she could remain calm and forgive him, Kasen had no right to continue. He slowly released the boy's arm, careful not to hurt him anymore. He climbed off of him, giving Macy a hand up. The boy stood up, cradling his sore shoulder and wiping blood, dirt, and tears off of his face. He backed up to a safe distance, still wary of Kasen, and stared at the ground. He sheepishly looked at Macy, who gave him a kind smile that shocked Kasen.

"I'm sorry." The boy mumbled, genuinely.

"I forgive you." She said quietly. He stood there awkwardly for a minute, and Kasen began to feel slightly bad as he looked at the boy's crooked nose and teary face.

"Are you okay?" He asked as gruffly as a twelve-year-old boy can. The boy just nodded.

Macy moved forward quietly, softly touching the boy's face. He flinched slightly when she prodded at his nose, but he didn't move away from her touch.

"Your nose isn't broken." She looked back at Kasen slightly exasperated. "But you might want to have it looked at by a doctor." She turned to Kasen. "Apologize." She whispered, quietly.

Great. Now he did really did feel bad, and it was his turn to stare at the ground. "I'm sorry." He huffed. The boy and him just looked at each other for a moment. That's when Kasen noticed that the boy's friends had all left. He wasn't sure when they had abandoned the boy, but they were gone, and he wasn't sure what to do now. The boy seemed to be taking his cues from them, not sure what to do next. Macy had noticed, then, too.

"Hey, where do you live?" The boy motioned behind him in the direction Macy and Kasen lived.

"A few streets over." Macy smiled at him, then. The boy, clearly surprised, gave her a small smile back.

"You want to walk with us?" Now the boy's surprise turned into clear shock. He gave Kasen a wary look. "He won't hurt you again." She said, catching the look. Kasen was glad he hadn't popped the boy's shoulder out of place. He would have felt about a hundred times worse than he did. He nodded at the boy. A way of saying they were good.

So they headed home, saying goodbye to the boy about a block before they reached their own homes. After that Macy and Kasen had looked at each other with a new level of respect. She grew into her body, becoming the kind of girl any guy would kill to be with.

They never talked about that day, but Kasen had walked her home for the rest of the year. The boys never messed with her again, and surprisingly Kasen and the boy had become friends, staying close for the last few years.

*________________________*

Now, sitting in the back of the room, smiling at each other, Kasen felt that old respect floating back up. He turned back to his book and tried to concentrate for the rest of the hour. When the bell rang Kasen packed his books up, nodded goodbye to Macy as she made her way over to the fiery redhead, and kept his head down on his way out the door.

Kasen had never been very popular in high school. He had a moppy head of jet black curls that he let go wild, dark grey eyes, and a strong jaw line. He was well over six feet tall with a body that looked a little chubby. He kept to himself, mostly, leaving his eyes on the ground as he walked through the halls towards his locker. As he was grabbing his book for his next class, his best friend scared the shit out of him, slapping the metal door next to his with a loud bang.

"Hey!" Kasen whipped his head around, immediately irritated. His friend fell into hysterics.

"Jesus, Danny. I about took your head off!"

"Dude, you should have seen your face! I scared the shit out of you. Admit it." Kasen glared at his friend as he kept laughing. He shut his locker and walked past Danny, ignoring him.

"Hey, so, what are we doing tonight?" Danny asked, running up behind him. "Wanna hit a party? Check out some babes?" Kasen frowned at him. "Oh, right. Stupid question. Hey, man!" Danny jogged farther ahead in the hall, slapping hands with a tall blond boy as they disappeared into the classroom they were all headed to.

Stephen Corliss. Kasen rolled his eyes. Stephen was what most would call the "stud" of Thurston High. He was the reason there wasn't a top popular girl at school. When you dated Stephen you were the most popular, but when he dumped you, everyone forgot about it. Danny was friends with him. Dan was the kind of guy that was popular, but not an ass about it. He was popular because people genuinely liked him. He was nice. Sometimes Kasen was unsure why they were friends. Guess it's true that if you're friends with someone for over five years, it's a lifetime friendship.

Kasen quickly found his near the back, as usual, on the other side of Danny. He and Stephen were laughing about something Kasen hadn't heard- probably something to do with football, girls, or a party. That was the side of Danny that Kasen didn't care to know. He was not a partyer. He had allowed Danny to drag him to a couple in the past, but he always got bored and left early. It wasn't his idea of fun.

He took up his usual routine of getting out the correct books and notebooks for the class, always keeping an eye on the door. This was always his hardest class. Not because the class itself was challenging, but rather because he sat right next to HER. They didn't have assigned seating, but humans are creatures of habit, and once you have decided on a seat in a class, it usually remained the seat you sat in every day for the rest of the year, and for some reason Kasen hadn't understood and still didn't understand, She had sat next to him on the first day of class, six months ago. It was agonizing, but it hurt so good. He loved being so close to her, for multiple, unexplainable reasons, but it was also very difficult to spy on her. He was also in a constant battle, always wanting to jump up and take her right there in front of everyone.

He knew it the instant she entered the room. He felt her long before he saw her. It was something deep inside of him that he couldn't explain. Something carnal. She walked in, and the entire room became brighter, and he got this feeling in his chest that made him slightly panicky, but it was so pleasantly warm he barely noticed. Her curls, long neck, heart-shaped mouth, high cheekbones, and long lashes that fluttered over bright green eyes that flashed with electricity when she laughed all made his heart not only skip a beat but pound so furiously it could break a rib.

He couldn't help the small smile that managed to escape his iron will as he looked her over again. He felt like he had enough energy to do backflips from one end of the school to the other.

He realized too late that he was talking to him, and he had been too busy staring at her that he hadn't heard her.

"Kasen...?" Her voice was melodious! He loved the way his name sounded on her lips. He sighed as his imagination ran wild. "Kasen!" He snapped back to reality, and blushed deeply as she looked at him with a slightly annoyed look.

"What? Sorry."

"You OK?" She asked, sitting down in the seat beside him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He mumbled, ducking his head. He was always so shy around her. He cursed himself for being such a coward.

"OK.. "

"Did you need something?"

"Oh, I just said hi." She smiled a little. Kasen couldn't help but to smile slightly, too.

"Hi." He replied, quietly.

The rest of the class went by agonizingly slowly. Kasen tried not to stare too openly. He didn't think he was doing a very good job. She kept turning to him before he had a chance to really look at her. He thought he saw a tiny smile on her face a couple of times, but he thought that might just be wishful thinking on his part.

She never called him on it, and for that he was grateful. He didn't know what he would do if she asked him to stop. He genuinely didn't know if he would be able to. At least she was nice enough to keep from mortifying him.

Every time she would run her nails over her lip, as she did when she was confused or thinking hard, or a curl would escape the bundle that she had attempted to twist together and pull over her opposite shoulder, falling gently against the pale flesh on her cheek, he had to physically hold his hand back from reaching out to gently stroke that lip with his own fingers or tuck the curl behind her ear- finally feeling if her face was as soft as he imagined it to be.

Finally, the bell rang, startling him out of his daydreams. As Kasen began stacking his books up to carry them easier, he felt a small hand on his arm. He immediately froze. Her hand chilled and heated the skin beneath his t-shirt at the same time. He had to look at it with his own eyes to make sure it was actually happening.

She had never touched him.

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?" He heard her voice float through his mind. It was so assonant.

He turned his shocked expression slowly to her face. Big mistake. She was very close. Her eyes looked especially big, and she was smiling at him. He thought he might faint.

"Uh..." He was at a loss for words. What had she said? Had she asked him something? What was it?

He heard her giggle a little before she grabbed his hand. He almost flinched. Her fingers were so small as they wrapped them around his wrist and pulled it closer to her body. They had such a gentleness to them that went beyond how she was holding him. The skin itself seemed incapable to being harsh or harmful to another thing. He watched as she wrote something down on his hand with her bright blue pen.

"This is my address. My brother is having a party tonight. My parents are gone. You should come by." She smiled up at him. Kasen thought he might die of shock. He should say something.

"Er, I-I mean, OK. Sure?" Smooth.

Her smile brightened slightly. "Come by around 8:00, OK?" Kasen managed to nod slightly. And then she was gone. She dropped his wrist before picking up her books and skipping lightly out of the room, her hair catching the early spring light as it bounced, giving it a glowing affect. Kasen realized he was alone in the room. He looked down at his hand and smiled. A smile slowly crept across his face. By the time he had exchanged his books and was heading to his last class of the day, he had an all-out grin that stayed for the rest of the afternoon.

Tonight was a huge turning point for the dark haired, dark eyed boy.