Fox

One drop.

That's all it was. Just one drop that slowly made its way down my arm following some unseen path as it slowly worked its way to the pristine white tile that was underneath me. It dropped off my arm and with a soft bloop it landed in the small red puddle that had formed beneath my arm.

"Tae are you done up there?" My mother called up to me from the kitchen.

Sighing heavily I got up from the floor and washed the blood off my arm as I watched the skin pull itself together. I stared at my completely healed arm for a minute before bending down to clean up the blood that was slowly drying on the bathroom floor. The crimson liquid quickly soaked through the flimsy paper towels.

Walking over to the sink I sighed as the taps sputtered to life in front of me without me even having to touch it. I cupped my hands together, leaning down to splash some water on my face. The water drained as I schooled my features into something that was acceptable to my parents.

Looking back at the mirror I grimaced at the person in front of me. I was so different now. Jet black hair replaced the blonde hair I had as a child. Golden eyes stared back at me as I licked my new sharper canines. The night everything changed was a horribly painful night that I would never forget.

The horrible burning that spread through my body caused me to howl in pain and agony all night. There was no one there to rush me to a hospital as I lay on the floor, hot tears streaking down my face as I writhed in pain. My parents had been away on business trips and told me I was old enough to watch myself for a few days with the neighbor checking in every so often.

When the change happened I had been in so much pain that my body simply shut down. When I woke up the next morning I was a new person literally. Over the next few months I had discovered new abilities that I possessed as well as the need to hide my more drastic changes. Like my new eye color.

My parents demanded that I stopped wearing the contacts as soon as they got back. There was no way for me to argue either. How could I tell my parents that this was my natural eye color without them thinking I've gone crazy?

"Tae get down here now or else I'm coming up there!" My mother yelled again. I sighed and through the door to my bathroom open before stomping over to my bedroom door.

"I'll be down in a minute!" I screamed down at her before slamming the door closed.

Looking around my messy room I picked up the black skinnies I had thrown down and the black and red Asking Alexandria shirt I had tossed on my bed earlier and pulled them on easily. I went to my nightstand and pulled out the colored contacts that I hid in there. I slipped them on and groaned, rolling my eyes around to settle the contacts.

I snatched up my bag and jacket heading down the stairs towards the front door only to find my mother standing there, hands on her hips and scowl on her face. With one long manicured finger she pointed towards the kitchen.

My mother was shorter than me standing at 5'4 but she was a very strong woman. She was a business woman who was usually out the house by now but I guess my breakfast needs were more pressing. She had a pristine white apron wrapped around her slim waist hiding her fitted business attire. It didn't even looked used let alone look like she would use it.

She was a highly manicured woman who took no nonsense from anyone, even me. Like my father she was rarely ever home this was one of the rare moments that I caught her here before I left for school. Usually it was just a random note telling me how much she loved me and warning me to behave.

"Go eat something." She demanded, standing there until I moved towards the dining room. My father sat in his usual chair with the large newspaper covering his face. I rolled my eyes as he mumbled something akin to 'good morning' before he flipped the page, not even sparing a sideways glance at me.

Whatever.

"Sit down and eat something. I made toast and eggs and bacon and sausage..." She drifted off hoping that something would sound good to me. I shrugged my shoulders grabbed a slice of toast, a piece of bacon and was back out of my seat heading towards the door.

"Is that all you're going to eat? I stayed home and decided to go into work late so that you had a decent breakfast and you won't eat it? Harold make him eat more..." She whined hitting him on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Mary if he doesn't want to eat then what do expect me to do? Shove it down his throat?" My father asked dryly as he put down his paper to look at us. His piercing gray eyes stared back at us with no emotions what so ever. His black hair peppered white gray was slicked back a little. His black suit, white shirt and blue tie completely complimented him.

In his line of work it's always a good trait not to be able to show too many emotions in case one of the jury members or other lawyers picked up on it and used it against him. But here at home it would be nice to be able to just have a normal conversation with my dad where he would smile...or something.

As much as I loved my parents I'm pretty sure they couldn't understand me at all. I didn't want to grow up to be a lawyer or business man or anything like that. To me living was enough of a job at this point I didn't want to have to worry about climbing any social or business ladders as well.

"That might work..." She mumbled as I made my way to the door. Shaking my head I walked out into the cool sunny morning that almost made me smile. Almost. I bit down on the crunchy piece of bacon instantly regretting my choice to only get one. I finished that and the piece of toast as I made my way down the street.

The one thing that I loved about my house was that we were literally on the edge of the forest. It had been my safe haven for as long as I could remember. It was somewhere I could hideaway when everything seemed to be too much. By now I had gotten used to my new life so I didn't visit the forest as often but I still went there to find peace of mind.

Walking down the sidewalk I glanced at the car that was slowly driving by me. It was strange to see such a flashy car in a place like this. My parents were loaded and even then we didn't drive around in something so opulent. The windows were completely tinted so it was near impossible to see who was looking at me but I could feel that they were just staring at me.

"Weird..." I mumbled as the car sped up and passed me.

Walking down the sidewalk I let the wind whip around me cheerfully begging me to ditch school and just run with it. Run through the forest, hide amongst the leaves and just relax but I know if I did that my parents would be getting a call and I would be in trouble again.

It wasn't the first time I had felt the pull to just run and leave everything behind. Something in me wanted so much to just run and leave this life behind me. There was something out there calling out to me and for some reason that call kept getting louder and louder.

"Watch where you're going fag!" Someone shouted at me as a car sped past me. Thankfully my body reacted without me having to do much as think about it. Immediately I jerked back away from the curb and ducked my head as something went whizzing by. Looking behind me I saw a Styrofoam cup with ice and juice spilling from it lying behind me.

"Damn I missed." Someone grumbled from another car.

Rolling my eyes I waited for the light to change before I walked across the road. Ever since I was fourteen I had slowly began to alienate myself from others. When I came to school with my new appearance everyone just assumed that I had gone emo and labeled me as such. I don't really know when the fag part kicked in but it hurt nonetheless.

It always amazed me how kids that I had grown up with all my life could turn on me so quickly. Before everything seemed to go downhill I was pretty well known. I wasn't popular or anything but I had friends that liked me for me and never judged me. Now I don't even see them anymore and the people that were once nice to me quickly turned on me.

Walking up the steps to the school I grimaced as instantly the chatter started. My hearing had increased as well as my sight. Even the lightest whisper a block away I could hear as if the conversation was happening right next to me. So when everyone started talking about me it wasn't hard to hear every bit of the conversations as if it was on stereo.

Instead of listening to their crap any longer I pushed past a group of giggling girls and walked out to the back of the school. Slowly I took each step up the bleachers reviling in the way the wind surrounded me as I walked. Making my way to the top I dropped my bags down on the top bleacher before sitting down as well.

Looking at my phone I sighed knowing I only had about thirty minutes before my personal hell started. Until then I would have to distract myself. I dug through my bag until I found the old pack of playing cards that I carried around with me. The air around me sizzled as a few of the cards rose from the deck on their own.

Closing my eyes I concentrated on the movements of the cards in my mind rather than controlling what I saw. The more practicing I did the better I seemed to become with controlling this strange ability. When using playing cards I could do a lot of tricks but recently I had started working on bigger things, like books and other things.

The shrill sound of the bell shook me from my practice as all the cards slowly fluttered back into place in the card box. That was only the first bell which meant that I still had about fifteen minutes before school started. If I went in now I could get the taunting over with without having to worry about it later.

Sighing I reached down to pick up my things before walking down the center of the bleachers. Once my feet hit the ground a strange sensation shot through me causing me to spin around in my spot. It felt as if someone was watching me.

"Weird..." I muttered as I looked around one last time before running off the field and back towards the main building heading straight for my locker.

"Hey fag!" Someone called from behind me followed by a few snickers.

"Look at him moping around again today. Want me to give you something to perk you up fag?" I ignored the voice and continued to walk. This is how it went every day. Get to school. Put up with the stares and the whispering and then get annoyed by Ryan's constant barking. That's all it ever was...barking. He never did anything to me but he never once shut up.

I reached into my pocket pulling out my iPod and slipping the headphones into my ear before scrolling through my list of music to find something that would drown him out. I barely even looked up at him as he and his friends continued taunting me. They really weren't worth my time of day.

"Didn't you hear me?" He growled and his hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder roughly as he spun me around to face him.

Well this is new. I mused to myself as I kept myself composed. Removing one ear bud from my ear I looked up at him with a blank expression on my face as he glared down at me. He was only a few inches taller than me but right now it seemed to really matter. He was really starting to piss me off.

"I'm sorry did you say something?" I asked politely with a soft hint of a smile playing at my lips.

"You heard me!" He roared.

"Actually I didn't. If you hadn't noticed I had headphones crammed into my eardrums so I wouldn't have to hear your incessant barking." At the end of my remark there were a few snickers and murmurings about what me. Ryan and his lackeys didn't seem to like that and I saw it coming before it even happened.

His eyes narrowed at me. His jaw was clenched as were his fists that were hanging at his side. He had started breathing a little deeper and as in slow motion I watched as his hand lifted up and he cocked back his arm before letting it fly forward aiming straight for my face. Quickly I moved to the side and the sound of the people around us seemed to startle me back into reality as I realized that I had just dodged his punch.

The look on his face was priceless as he gazed at me like I was some sort of alien. I guess he wasn't expecting me to be able to do that. I had seen him in fights before and he was not someone to mess around with. He was sheer brute force and I definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of that. He was about to try again just as the second bell rang.

Deftly, I made my way through the crowd putting enough distance between the group of Neanderthals and me as I made my way to my first class, History. I groaned as I sat down in the back because it was way too early for us to try and remember anything having to do with dynasties and rulers and blah, blah, blah.

"Good morning class." Mrs. Constance greeted us to which everyone muttered a similar reply. A few people ran into the class just as the third and final bell rang. With a cheerful smile she walked over to the door, closed and locked it before waiting at the door to see who was late.

Her biggest pet peeve was being tardy. She could forgive everything else but punctuality was required in her class. She glared at the two students standing on the other side of the door with an evil smirk spread across her face. She walked over to her desk pulling out two detention forms before writing them up. She then walked back to the door and let them in handing them each a slip before walking back in front of the class.

"Now this morning we will be having a new student join us. He just moved here and I would love for you guys to help him feel welcomed." She announced. "I actually need someone to go pick him up from the Principal's office and show him around today."

Immediately the hands flew up. The majority of them were girls but there were a few guys in the class that either wanted to be on our teacher's good side or really just had nothing better to do with their lives. I groaned and dropped my head to the desk with a loud thump. If I were normal a bruise would probably be there by lunch.

"Thank you Tae for volunteering." Mrs. Constance called out making my head shoot up to lock eyes with her.

"Um...I never volunteered." I told her to which she simply waved a pass at me motioning for me to come get it. Without another word I got up from my seat and walked to the front being careful to avoid Ryan.

"Go to the Principal's office and he should be there waiting on you. Make sure to help him around and all that stuff." She grinned as she pushed me out the room slamming the door closed behind me. She really was...different.

"Why the hell did she choose me? I'm like the least sociable person here." I grumbled as I made my way down the hall.

A few minutes later I was standing in the front office waiting for the secretary to actually acknowledge my presence. Although I knew she knew I was here she didn't stop tapping away at that keyboard of hers as she wrote out something. It was actually starting to annoy me.

"Um...Excuse me?" I asked.

"One minute." She responded without looking up at me. Rolling my eyes I made the decision to ignore her just as she was ignoring me. I walked to the side and pushed open the door that separated the waiting area from all the offices in the back. She glared at me and opened her mouth to say something until she was interrupted.

"It's fine Rhoda." The principal said.

"But he just-" She started again.

"I'm well aware of what he just did." He cut her off again as he ushered me into his office. As soon as I set foot in his office my head snapped toward the back of the room against the wall where the new student was sitting. His full pouty lips, his steel blue eyes that seemed to change even as I watched him and his innocent nature all drew me in but what was really intriguing was what he held in his arms.

A red fox.

The principal motioned for me to sit across from his desk next to the new kid. The closer I got to him the more drawn I felt to him. As if I was meant to be there at that moment. His eyes followed my every movement as I took the seat next to him.

"This is our new student, Alistair." He spoke motioning to the boy sitting next to you.

"Nice to meet you." His voice was soft and almost unheard.

"Same here." I muttered back looking down at the fox that he held still on his lap. It was staring up at me as if it knew me.

The fox was a small thing that was about as big as kitten but he looked as ferocious as any other wild animal. He stared back at me with striking golden eyes that caught my attention. He had a bright red almost orange coat that tapered off into a rich black around his paws and the tip of his tail. His belly was completely white and he looked stunning.

"Well you'll be showing him around today and hopefully he'll be all set by tomorrow." The principle informed me before handing him a piece of paper which was probably his schedule and shooing us out the room. We both stood up and walked out the door. The secretary glared at me while she just gave Alistair a soft smile.

"So...My name is Tae." I told him as we walked down the hall back towards my first class.

"Hello Tae." He replied softly as the fox made some weird sound and scurried out his hands and up to his shoulder.

"How did you convince the principal to let you keep that thing here?" I asked as I stared at the fox that was watching from off of Alistair's shoulder.

"It...It doesn't really matter." He mumbled before holding his paper up to his face to inspect his classes. Before he even had a chance to look at any of the classes I snatched the paper from in front of his face causing him to frown and spin around to stare at me.

"Calm down I'm just checking to see what classes you have." I laughed as I scanned the paper. Surprisingly his class schedule was the exact same as mine. Handing him back the paper we walked along in silence for a while before he finally spoke.

"His name is Levi." He told me.

"Whose name is Levi?"

"The fox."

"Oh...Had him for long?" I asked him.

"Yes, he's been my only friend for a while now." He mumbled and I actually felt bad for him. Everyone should have at least one friend. Well present company excluded of course.

"Don't worry I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends here. You just have that look about you." I encouraged him. He shot me a breath taking smile as he grabbed my hand stopping us in the hall.

"Will you be my friend?" He asked eagerly awaiting my answer. As amazing as he seemed I didn't want to be the reason that he had a horrible life here. So like the dutiful saint I am I shook my head.

"I can't." I spoke lowly as I pulled my hands out of his.

"Why not?" He asked sounding heartbroken.

"Trust me. Once you get used to this place you'll see why me not being your friend is a good thing." I laughed lightly.

"Even if you don't accept it I've chosen you as my friend. Besides, Levi has taken a liking to you." As soon as the words left his mouth the fox leapt from his shoulder and onto the ground next to my feet. He began to rub his entire body against my leg like a cat would. Odd behavior for a fox if I do say so myself.

"How about this? I show you around for today and you can see firsthand what being my friend means and tomorrow you can come back to school and act like you don't even know me alright?"

"I doubt I'll do that but okay." He agreed just as we made it to our class. Pushing the door open I was surprised to see that Mrs. Constance wasn't teaching but was allowing the kids to just read.

"Oh you're back!" She exclaimed as if I was here favorite student.

"Yeah..." I replied as I made my way back to my seat. Alistair began to follow me until Mrs. Constance grabbed his wrist. Worst. Idea. Ever.

As soon as her hand wrapped around his wrist he spun around to stare at her with wide eyes. A weird sounding bark escaped Levi as he crouched down on the ground ready to pounce on our teacher. Immediately her hold on Alistair was broken as she jumped back and away from the little fox.

"Calm down Levi she didn't mean any harm." Alistair groaned as the fox calmed down instantly. "Go sit with Tae and relax." He told the fox who obeyed his orders better than the most well trained dog I had ever seen. He pranced down the row of desks leading back to where I was sitting with his tail held high as if he was the most stunning thing in the room, which he was. Besides Alistair of course.

Once Levi reached my seat he wasted no time in hopping up onto my lap and then on top of my desk. He curled his tail around his small frame as he laid his head down on his front paws and watched his master intently as if he alone was his sole protector.

"My name is Alistair Emmerson and that is my fox Levi. Don't worry he's well trained and wouldn't hurt a fly, well unless you try to hurt me. I just moved back here and I'm looking forward to this new school." He introduced himself before making his way to the back of the class where there happened to be a seat available.

Levi kept his eyes on his master as he walked back towards us. As soon as he sat down Levi picked up his head looking at his master with expressive eyes that seemed to be asking a question. Alistair said nothing though; instead he simply nodded his head with a gentle smile on his lips. The fox put its head back down and closed its eyes and I'm pretty sure he fell asleep on my desk.

"S-So that was our ne-new student Alistair. I want you to all ma-make him feel wel-welcome here." Our teacher stuttered as she sat behind the desk shakily. The class mumbled a few words back to her that sounded like an agreement but with them one could never be too sure. Alistair seemed unfazed by the way his introduction had went.

His fox almost ate our teacher and he didn't seem worried at all. Well, I guess he wouldn't have eaten her but he still could have attacked and that would not have been a pretty sight. In one day he managed to intrigue and confuse me. Maybe being his friend wouldn't be that bad. At least I'll be able to keep him away from all the two-faced phonies. This was definitely going to be an interesting year.

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