Planetfurry BBS

[whackamole2]

I know I'm inordinately new here, but a part of the reason I registered to this forum was to get a review for my incomplete work (short story, if you will) which is (as of yet) untitled, though is a simple romance story.
Before I post it, I'd like to share possible snags which I already know of:
Yes, it starts with an IM scene with the two characters meeting over the system, notoriously similar to scenes in both Sabrina and Chris Foxx. This is solely because I couldn't think of any other way for such distant folk to get together, and will ponder the beginning to improve.
The name Lyssa is, I found out after writing, from Guild Wars. She's the goddess of illusions and Mesmers, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'd subconsciously picked the name for my character. I maintain that it IS a good name for her, however.
There is a Fox+Rabbit love story in Carpe Diem, though they're falling OUT of love (and have had several affairs to date.)
BYOND is copyright 1997-present Dantom International.

In order to read this story, I recommend you copy-paste it into a word processor, and print it out 1-1/2 spaced. That makes it 19 pages.
Without further ado:
=========================
CHAPTER 1
“Stupid Brendan...” Lyssa sighed unconvincingly, sipping her warm, churned milk. Her long, floppy ears and whiskered, baby-pink nose gave away her species as a hare, and a remarkably pretty one. She kept her hair brushed behind her, and her white blouse blended well with her cream-colored body fur. Remembering the free internet for paying customers that this café provided, she pulled out her laptop, and launched its BYOND client. She never knew why, but it held some of the best chat programs available for free. From her experience, these channels held some semblance of safety for her, and good friends. Expertly, she toggled BYONDChat, and signed on with her usual username of HareLyssa.
<<HareLyssa has entered channel ‘LONELY?’>> She smirked. The ironic thought crossed her mind, perfect.
She checked the ‘Who?’ verb, and noted 15 people playing, 7 within earshot.
Suddenly, a message appeared in her diminutive chat-box.
*BigFox whispers to you, “wanna go private n cyber? Im gud!”*
OK, mostly safe—with a few friends. At least she knew how to deal with jerks like him.
HareLyssa (Worldsay)> I WON’T cyber with you, BigFox, GO AWAY! <
AlexFlame*ADMIN*(Worldsay)> Last time was your final warning, BF. <
<<BigFox has been BANNED by AlexFlame>>
Lyssa blinked. Hard. Someone else typing with proper English? Then she realized what he’d done for her.
HareLyssa> Thanks =) <
AlexFlame> no problemo. He was a total jerk to everyone he thinks is female, and I finally got enough dirt on him to merit a ban. <
On the other end, Alex looked at his screen, his muzzle tightening to a self-conscious grin, thinking smooth. Then, a ding played, and he checked his personal messages.
*HareLyssa whispers to you, “So... I’ve never seen you around, but you’re an admin. How’s that?”*
Shit, she pondered, that sounded presumptuous.
Alex’s autumn-orange snout fur perked up. His intuition told him she knew he held a major interest in BYOND. And she PM’d me, too!
She whispered again, “You still there?”
He hastily replied, “Of course. So, it sort of happened by serendipity. The previous admin left, and left me in charge ‘cuz I was the only one left he trusted.” Dammit, why would she care…? I’m prattling.
But still, her reply came: “Cool.” Her comfort milk drained, Brendan slowly vanished from her mind though the interchange. Though… she thought her last response vapid, and hoped she could rectify it. “Sorry if that seemed insincere. It really is… cool.” She then recoiled. I hope that didn’t sound really desperate.
This told Alex she enjoyed BYOND as much as he did, and this gave him confidence. That is, if she was sincere about really being sincere. Still, he wanted to know who this person was… their real name, or anything! So he messaged her with a slightly forward topic: “ASRL?”
Lyssa sat back to think. “Isn’t it a bit early for that? All I’ll say, is Female.”
“Sorrysorrysorry… I forgot we just met. Just trying to break the ice… *blush* I’ll go first then. 22, M, fox, Madison, WI.” By this time, his heart thumped audibly with her reaffirmation of being female.
At her laptop still, Lyssa’s eyes widened to the fact he trusted her so completely. She also found it interesting that he claimed his age so close to hers… but she shrugged it off. Not knowing if he was even telling the truth, she still wanted to trust him. “What harm could it do?” she whispered aloud, typing expertly, “21, F, bunny, Milwaukee, WI.”
Alex’s demeanor changed drastically. Subconsciously, he prayed that she wasn’t a crazed, gay predator. He reassured himself, however, that no stalker would put his race as ‘bunny.’ Though, one burning question remained in his mind. Through all his shyness, he typed, “Name?” Oh geez, she probably thinks I’m desperate… he worried, and knew by the warmth that his face had gone flush. “If you do not mind…” he keyed out hurriedly.
Again, she sat back, amused at his audacity. She cracked a sarcastic smirk. “Is this why you’re in the ‘LONELY’ channel, hmm? xD”
Alex snickered at that, though immediately he realized she had completely found him out. “You guessed it =X I am Alex, by the way.”
Wondering why he told her, some nagging, internal force told him to keep going. The glib way she talked, along with her obvious self-assurance infectiously reached him; he could tell she was a sincere person, even from what little she had written so far. Another message drew up onto his screen.
“I’d never have figured it out. Along the same lines, you can probably get mine.”
“Let me guess. Lyssa?”
“We have a winner!”
She planned to have fun with him a bit. But some part of her really wanted to get to know him better.
“So…” she queried back, “wanna get a private channel? This PM system is pretty clunky.”
“Hmm… OK, it’s set up. You’ll know it when you see it.”
Impressed, she traveled back out to the hub, and, true enough, a link by the title of ‘*PRIVATE*for a bunny!’ popped up.
Raising an eyebrow at the name, she tabbed into the room and quickly went through the password barrier with her pseudonym.
“So… hi again,” Alex said over the public channel.
“Hi.” Typed Lyssa, quickly checking the “Who?” verb again. She smiled in relief that no one else’s name came up.
Alex’s ears perked with the common twinge of uneasiness, and tried another ‘get-to-know-you-better’ icebreaker. “So… what do you like to do? Y’know, for fun?” A safe, easy topic that got her talking about herself. He hoped she would.
Of course, Lyssa understood this entirely. She didn’t like being selfish and hogging the conversation, so she answered his question succinctly. “Computers, hanging out with friends, piña coladas, getting caught in the rain, the whole bit. =D” He was eager, she could tell. Though she knew he had experience around the local rooms, she doubted whether or not he had actually ever had a girlfriend; he acted awkwardly around her, though she found this endearing.
*HareLyssa sighs* and she did, indeed. “My friends always call me a mix of wild and introverted.” Then, she remembered how much she didn’t like to keep the spotlight on herself. “So… what about you?”
His eyebrows raised, Alex responded, “Remarkably similar, with the exception of the ‘friends,’ and more anime involved. And Coldplay, plenty of Coldplay.” This last line worked much better than he expected, getting her to talk about her own musical tastes. While they differed from his, he was willing to read intently, giving constructive comments every so-often, and of course the occasional ‘aah,’ or ‘ooh’ when emphasis was needed.
As one might expect, the conversation drifted: music, to the arts, to computers. Lyssa noted the shop closing down, and they wouldn’t allow her to stay after-hours, even on a Saturday. Reluctantly, she logged off, but reconnected as soon as she could once she reached her apartment. She liked Alex, and was more than happy to continue conversing with him. She didn’t know why, but he stayed on the channel while she traveled. Even though it took her all of a 5-minute walk, she found herself amused by his persistence. “Hey again, there. Where’d we leave off?”
And so their conversation went on. Their computer systems, to favorite movies, to spots to eat. As the conversation fell more into personal things, Lyssa thought it only natural to ask, “So… what do you look like?” and, for the first time, didn’t consciously think he was going to take offense at it. As usual, he didn’t, and happily told her what he looked like. As far as he could tell, it was intended to help the two of them get to know each other, as she had meant. “Lessee… reddish-brown body fur, brown hair, white stomach, 5’ 11”… you?”
She happily replied, “Cream-ish body, red, curly hair, 5’ 9”.” By this time, however, it was past two in the morning for both of them, and they agreed they both needed sleep.
Alex yawned, and typed “Good night. I will… see you again, here, noon-ish?”
She smiled, and echoed “That’d be great. G’night.”
*HareLyssa gives Alex a quick peck on the cheek*
Aptly enough, Alex followed through with his real-life action- *AlexFlame blushes a deep crimson, saying a flustered ‘goodbye’*
He stepped away from his computer after shutting it down, yawned, and moved over the threshold into another room of his three-bedroom apartment, still waiting for his roommate to come back from another night out. He sat back in his unkempt bed’s rumpled sheets, leaning on the headboard wondering exactly who this ‘Lyssa’ was. He knew some basic things about her; simple personality traits, and what she liked to do, and began to daydream about where they could go if they ever met… but he remembered not to get carried away with fantasy. Only tomorrow could tell. He reached up, pulled the chain on his lamp, and promptly watched the ceiling for another few hours, forming a mental image of her.

Sunday. Lyssa’s alarm chirped furiously at ten o’clock in the morning, a good hour or two before she usually woke up over the weekend. Why in God’s name did I wake up so early on a…and it dawned on her. She knew she still needed to wait a few hours, and took the time to eat, shower, and get dressed, but couldn’t resist checking if Alex was on. She was still so eager to learn more about him; to talk to him more, maybe even meet him… Since she added him to her ‘Friends’ list the night before (and vice-versa,) she knew exactly where he was—the ‘Lonely’ channel, again.
<<HareLyssa has entered channel ‘LONELY?’>>
Alex was hardly paying attention, still subconsciously preparing what he wanted to talk about as he set to work, checking the time. Hmm… a full hour early. I wonder if she’s as eager about this as I am…? And chuckled at the thought. Given her movement the night before from cynical to eager, his confidence broiled as he opened the private room again, setting the same password and everything. Surely enough, she soon logged into the room, confident that there was no one else save Alex in it. Following a moment of awkward silence after minor pleasantries, she opened with “so… I can’t really think of anything else we can share, ‘cept… you know, we’ve shared basic self-description, but really not much past that. Got any good pictures of yourself?” Alex put a paw to his chin, bemused. With all the reluctance between them, her opening up to him like that convinced him that she trusted him. However…
“I do not really have one on hand. I will need to take one. Do you have ten minutes?”
“Only if you do. Come to think of it, I don’t have anything more recent than last year. Out for a while.” Both of them took their digital cameras resolutely, determined to give the other a good sense of what they described. Experiences with faked pictures abounded on the internet, leading the two of them to mild suspicion when the idea came up. However, both Alex and Lyssa knew upon downloading the picture that they had images of the other, from their descriptions. Lyssa’s picture held the smiling hare, with a florist’s hat and a light-green, v-cut T-shirt standing triumphantly near a bed of flowers in the sunlight. Her lengthy ears, while visible, were swept under the rear edge of her large-brimmed sunhat. It immortalized her carefree laughter and accentuated her beautiful features, leading Alex to want to believe her so much more. However, her beauty made him doubt his own picture’s quality. It depicted the shy fox leaning against his desk chair, basking in the light of a nearby window, his brown, unbuttoned polo shirt starkly contrasting his white neck and chin fur. This in turn complemented his mild brown hair, swept over his forehead and combed tight behind his ears, under his square glasses. Expecting someone of computer-geek stature, Lyssa discovered pleasantly that she found his subtle, yet visible muscles attractive. His self-conscious smile revealed how much anxiety he held, but Lyssa still found his picture overwhelmingly cute. She thought the naïveté of his picture and the unsteadiness of his expression really conveyed how much he weighed his relations with her, even though they had only met the day before. After a few minutes to gather his thoughts on the picture, Alex wrote first, taking a deep breath. “I had been trying to gather a mental image of you all night. My thoughts are all outdone by your radiant beauty.”
“Poetic. You’re a looker yourself. I’ve never seen someone look insecure and boldly reassured at the same time, though I must say, it fits you well.”
They both blushed at the other’s kind appraisal, and Alex’s apprehension about his picture had all but vanished completely. After an awkward pause, he reopened conversation with a cautious, “So… if we know everything about each other, want to get together some time?”
Surprisingly, Lyssa didn’t respond skeptically. She only asked, “Sure! Where should we meet?”
“If it is alright with you, I would still like to meet somewhere public. For obvious reasons.”
“I concur. Your city, or mine?”
He thought about her inquiry for a moment, until declaring, “Madison has got some beautiful parks. Let us meet here, at Wingra Park. I will buy us custard.”
“2 PM, tomorrow?”
“Sounds great. See you there.”
They both said their goodbyes, logged off, and ran off to prepare. Eagerly, Lyssa Mapquested directions, mentally chose an outfit, then remembered that she had over 24 hours to get ready.
CHAPTER 2
Lyssa sighed with anticipation as she stepped out of her shiny, silver Volvo onto the warm blacktop. She wore a red blouse with an auburn, knee-length dress for the occasion, and still had her sunhat from the picture. Unlike in the picture, however, she had poked her long, unruly ears through the holes on the brim. She crossed the parking lot, only slowing to fondly observe some young puppies play catch in the park with a large, red rubber ball. Remembering how much she loved kids, she sighed at their playful, carefree attitudes unadulterated by the triviality of everyday life. She then noticed a seated fox at the table 20 feet ahead of her, who averted his gaze when she looked there.
As she enthusiastically strode towards him, as casually as possible, he stood up and extended a paw to shake. “Alex Vulpes,” he proclaimed confidently, prepared to use any of a host of directionless small-talk topics, though noting that his head rose at least two inches over hers.
Unable to hold herself from breaking a grin, she answered with “Lyssa Cunniculus.”
Through their steady eye contact, Alex returned, “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, face-to-face. To hear your voice, to…”
His flowery linguistics continued until Lyssa, still smiling, held a finger up to his lips and whispered, “It doesn’t take pre-prepared speeches to please me. Care for a walk?” and held back laughter as Alex’s face turned faintly crimson under his thin, brown fur. He relocated his bulky spectacles up the bridge of his nose, and quickly regained his composure. At least, enough to proffer his arm to Lyssa’s, in order to set off down the path around the lake. He mentally flipped through what he had planned, and discarded it for a placid jaunt. Though he didn’t hardly expect Lyssa to prefer a walking date to something more formal, he still knew that it was probably the easiest and most relaxing way for them to meet.
As they walked the tree-lined path away from the park, the sunlight flowing sublimely downward over them, they discussed anything, and everything. Philosophy, science, literature, and anything in between. When the conversation spread to music, however, they realized they had never discussed their own musical abilities. Lyssa noted that she had forgotten the topic when they had spoken of music before, and upon Alex’s insistence, revealed that she played the bass guitar. Alex, obliged to share his own talents to accompany hers, murmured sheepishly, “I… play the guitar… some. I am ok, I guess…” and his voice trailed off into his shirt collar, following his snout. Even though Lyssa wanted to pursue his reluctance on the subject, the sky had been slowly darkening with clouds, and just before making it three quarters of the way around the lake, a downpour swiftly overtook them. Alex darted under a tree in a feeble attempt to get out of the rain, but Lyssa simply removed her hat and flitted her already-wet hair. Moderately stunned by her unflappability, Alex moved towards her again. She unceremoniously walked on, slightly faster than before, only stopping to blink the rain from her eyes and whiskers. As Alex rejoined her, she looked at him, and laughed jovially. “It’s just a little rain,” she prodded him verbally, until stating what was truly on her mind. “About how much further to the lot where we parked?”
“Ah… about a half-mile.”
“’Kay.”
Even though the rain made him quite soggy, Alex didn’t mind walking through the precipitation. He could only think about Lyssa and her every detail since he had met her. Every curve of her body and face, that foreign, feminine scent, her sweet, lilting voice, her soft skin, down to her gentle touch when they had first shook. He still held that impeccable image of her flicking the rain from her face, eyes closed, with a serene smile across her lips. As they walked back through the park, Alex rattled his vulpine tail, leading up to his rear, up his back, ending with furiously shaking his head and arms, right before stepping into his car, which he had parked two spaces across from Lyssa’s. Pulling out of his spot as she did, he opened his window to say a goodbye. As he slid down the pane, Lyssa handed him a piece of paper, smiled, said goodbye, and slowly began the two-hour drive back home. Alex’s apartment, in which he had resided for three years, stood five blocks from the park where they had met. When he reached his driveway, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle, and he moved inside his house and flopped down on the couch to his right upon entering. His roommate, seated on the chair opposite him, looked at his soaked hair and fur, and simply stated rhetorically, “have fun?” with a wry smile on his face.
Alex smiled warmly, and responded with, “Yes, of course. The rain was a bit of a downer, though.”
The tall, light-brown squirrel plopped himself on the ottoman beneath the chair he had recently occupied. His blonde hair sweeping over his blue eyes, his muscles nearly bursting from his thin T-shirt, he slouched back, and crossed his legs. He coiled his tail beneath his rear, resting in thought. “Bummer. Was she hot, though? Nice cans?”
Ignoring his last comment, Alex responded with, “more than that. Beautiful. Remember that picture I showed you yesterday, of that rabbit? She is even more amazing in person.”
“You always were the romantic, hm? Eh, she’s not my type. Never did go for the audacious ones.”
“I know, only the unsuspecting and the innocently submissive.”
“You make it sound like my tastes in women are a bad thing.”
“At least they are not as bad as your tastes in guys…”
“Only because the last few guys were… a bit odd, doesn’t mean that I’m all bad, right?”
“Yeah, sure. I am going to head up to my computer, do not leave the light on for me.”
“Awright. See ya tomorrow.” Came the unsurprisingly sarcastic remark.
Once he had reached the safety of his room, Alex flipped open the paper. Inside the mostly blank, pre-prepared sheet, Lyssa had printed the following invitation:
“The BYONDChat system is a bit clunky, and I have a videoChat server. Noon tomorrow?” followed by the server information.
Alex already had and used a videoChat program, a client to allow audio and video feeds over the computer. Quickly digging his antiquated camera out of his computer desk, he set up his client to the specified server. He then realized that it was no later than five in the afternoon, and that he could wait for a while until getting ready, this time.
Upon waking, Alex wasted no time in preparing, given that he would see Lyssa within the hour. Aware that she would be able to see him over the link as well, he dabbed antiperspirant under his arms self-consciously and found a mostly-clean, dark green T-shirt to wear. He considered how she would react to the slight failure of their meeting the previous day; then he remembered, even though they had gotten quite wet, neither of them felt at any worse for the experience. He had met her in person, and both of them were pleased by the outcome. They both knew more about each other, and they shared more trust for only having shook hands. He furiously combed his hair until his watch read five-to-twelve, and he quickly set his glasses on the bridge of his nose. When he activated the program and connected to the server, he noted that no one else occupied the room. However, his worries were soon quelled when a soft ping notified him that another person had entered, and Lyssa’s common pseudonym appeared in the list. He hastily opened a dialog with her and clipped on his microphone. On her end, Lyssa already had an elegant device hooked up that acted as a camera and microphone, and she turned it toward herself. She considered this a less formal meeting, and had dressed accordingly, in some bell-bottomed jeans and an orange T-shirt. She had made an effort to leave a pair of Coldplay CDs and three graphic novels on the desk, which she hoped would not go unnoticed. She knew how much importance mutual interests held in a relationship, and how much Alex valued that, given what he had opened their first discussion with. She leaned forward over the back of her chair towards the monitor, and smiled as the dialog flickered open with Alex’s smiling face. He rested his elbows on the armrests of the chair, and subconsciously found pleasure in the fact that she had left things that interested him on the desk. She, however, opened the conversation with another topic. “So, you seemed pretty… well, insecure about your guitaring. What for?”
Expecting this topic to come up, Alex fumbled his response, though managed to say, “I can play… sort of… I am not really that… practiced… err…” sinking more and more into his collar, and his ears tilting back to his neck.
Sensing the awkwardness, Lyssa attempted to reassure him. “I’m sure you’re just fine. In fact, with this medium… why don’t you show me?”
His heart thumping through his chest, he knew he would have to play for her. Quickly racking his mind for a song to play, he picked up his sleek, black electric guitar and turned on the amp. Wishing Lathon were out that day, he pulled a pick from his pocket, and began strumming a chord. He began singing one of the most quintessential love songs known to foxkind in a beautiful tenor, and Lyssa’s ears perked up. She leaned back with a smile, to relax and listen to the remainder of the song. Alex expertly played every chord, down to tempo, length, and relative volume. All of these contributed to the emphasis of his perfectly legato voice, and accurately practiced singing. However, he didn’t expect Lyssa to already know the song. On the second verse, in which a female singer joins in tandem with the male, she began singing a harmonizing soprano. Barely missing a beat, Alex immediately adjusted the volume of the guitar to compliment the two of them together. After the song, they both sighed contentedly, and Lyssa asked, “Why were you unsure of your guitar skill? That was the best guitaring I’ve heard live since Weezer came to town! Four years ago, mind you.”
At this, Alex knew his cheeks had gone red as he answered, “I guess I just expected that since you are a musical person, you would just think my guitaring is… subpar, or average, or something.”
“I’d never do that! Especially for my boyfriend.” She smiled as broadly as possible, waiting as Alex had to ponder this for a moment, his face blank. He simply said, even more flustered than before, “I am your… boyfriend now? We have only had one date…”
“But isn’t that enough? We’ve ‘seen’ each other four times.”
“Ok, you have got a point. But does that mean that you are my…”
“Girlfriend?” she cut him off, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “Yes, I am, if anyone really cares.” Neither of them were able to figure what this changed for the moment, however.
They both smiled, and Alex broke their revelry with the quandary, “So, if we are… together, wanna go out again, sometime?” He knew this suavely-attempted transition had worked, when her ears perked up again, and Lyssa said enthusiastically, “Absolutely! My place this time? We may as well have it inside, too, just in case we get rained out again.”
“Makes enough sense to me,” Alex sagely responded, “When, do you think, would be best, if you have any particular fancy?”
“Next weekend would be best,” she said unsurely, furrowing her brow, “though anytime’s really fine.”
“Since it is a two-hour drive, how does Saturday, six o’ clock sound?”
“Sure,” she said, pondering this, “one sec.” She pulled a small, leather-bound planner out of her pocket, placed a pair of small, oval spectacles over her nose, at which Alex remarked, “Why did you not say you had glasses too?”
Her ears drooping and her neck shortening, she angstfully replied, “They make me look like a nerd. No offense, of course.”
“None taken. Though, you do not look like a nerd in the slightest! You’re… still quite beautiful. More so, even!” he reassured her, smiling as open as she had before.
“Really?” her ears regressed upward, and she shrugged. “It’s… not really important.” She shook her head, eyes resolutely closed. “Anyway, see you then.” She reached to the computer and shut off the server, only just realizing she had not given Alex the address after closing down her computer. She quickly rebooted the machine, and relaunched the client to a still-waiting Alex. “Sorry, you might need the address,” she confided with an awkwardly embarrassed smile, and relayed it to him, along with helpful directions from the highway. Though she expected nothing more than a sarcastic remark, she only received an enthusiastic “Ok, great! Thank you, and I will see you then!” She returned this kind statement, remembering how Alex had always acted towards her. She fondly remembered why she loved him, and contentedly shut off the computer, once again.
CHAPTER 3
Alex swept through the open door to Lyssa’s building, roses in hand. The red, perfumed flowers stood complimentarily to his deep purple button-down shirt, which fastened to his thin jeans by a faux-leather belt. He had forgotten to ask Lyssa how fancily he needed to dress, and self-consciously hoped he had done enough. When he reached the door, Apt. 216, a warmly smiling Lyssa opened the door to him, motioning for him to come in with a small, graceful bow, and “hello! Lasagna’s in the oven, give it fifteen minutes.”
Her dark blue dress hung to the floor, barely floating a quarter-inch off of the ground. She had drawn a portion of her hair back into a half-pony, and braided the remainder, tucking it under the back of her dress.
“Hi! And great!” He answered, smiling as broadly as she did, and proffering the posy of roses showily. “I brought you these.”
She took a moment to silently savor the aroma of the fragrant flowers, and traveled into the large, ornate kitchen to place them in a vase of water. Looking around the roomy interior of the living room that he had entered, Alex observed, “This is an awfully large place for just one person. Even if you have a roommate, are two couches not… excessive?” He looked at the twin couches, one ivory-colored, the other gold, sitting against the far wall and it’s counterclockwise companion, bracing the entrance of the apartment.
“Usually, Delilah and I just sorta… lounge around on ‘em. Oh, have you met Del?”
“No, I do not think so. Where is she?”
“She had a… thing tonight. I don’t even remember what, truth-be-told.” Lyssa walked back out into the living room, and through to the smaller dining room. She had already painstakingly placed two white, blue-laced porcelain plates across from each other on the smaller of their two tables, a fine mahogany three-by-six-foot surface designed for two. On top stood two candles, side by side and impeccably unlit, though Lyssa soon ruined this with a match to ready the scene, and dimmed the lights overhead. Alex got the hint, and walked into the room to stand patiently near the table, admiring the setup. Lyssa soon returned with the steaming pan of lasagna in hand, and set it down on the nearby serving tray next to the garden salad, sitting in its wooden bowl. As she cut their food and appropriated it to the plates, Alex circled around her and drew out both chairs. With the plates full, Lyssa began to seat herself, though much to her bemusement, Alex stood behind her and assisted her into the chair, as any gentleman would. Only then did he seat himself, and waited for her to commence eating before taking to his own food, though he did find it quite delectable. Waiting until an appropriate moment during their meal, Alex politely stated, “This is quite good! Where did you learn to cook?”
Lyssa slowly chewed introspectively for a second, until swallowing and replying, “My mom and I always worked together in the kitchen. I guess I learned from her.”
Alex looked down for a second, considering this. He then recounted that his own cooking (or, more specifically, grilling) experience was entirely paternally taught.
Several minutes of silent eating later, Lyssa excused herself politely and sat right out of Alex’s eyeshot in the living room, leaning against the ivory couch. Alex couldn’t help but notice her quiet sigh, and concernedly stood up from the table where they had been sitting. Lyssa had her head tilted backwards, massaging her temples with her impeccably soft fingers. Alex sat next above her, and to the right on the sofa.
“So. What’s wrong?” he asked plainly, resting his head on his arm next to hers.
“Ahh… nothing’s wrong. I’m just… tired.” She said fumblingly, bringing her head upright and blinking lightly. Alex noted that she had undone the ponytails in her hair.
“Do not tell me you were staying up…”
“Only to get ready,” she mouthed quietly.
“You did not have to do that for me…”
“But you enjoyed it, right?”
“Absolutely! But that is no reason to wear yourself out.”
“I know. But it seemed necessary.” She sighed again, this time more audibly.
“It just causes stress,” Alex said, sitting up and crossing his legs, “and that is no good.”
Arching her back subconsciously, she complained, “I know, but I wanted everything to be perfect.”
“It was.” The right corner of his mouth curled upward into a smile, and he placed his hands lightly on her shoulders. “But you do not need to worry about that.” his lulling voice sedated her mind as his dexterous digits massaged her tense joints.
“Hmm…” her ears turned backward, and her lips bowed into a contented grin. “but this leaves you doing all the work.” She stood up slowly, and Alex lowered his feet to the floor and scooted to his left to make room for her on the couch. She took this space compliantly, and he turned away from her to better allow her to reciprocate his backrub. After several switches, Lyssa turned to face him, instead of away. Placing her forearms around his shoulders, she simply looked into his eyes. He followed suit, unblinkingly watching her delicate, green eyes as they flew deeply into his own. Neither of them knew how long they sat like that, and neither cared.
They drew each other close.
“Thank you,” Lyssa mouthed to Alex’s ear, “Thank you for everything.”
“I should be thanking you,” Alex responded quietly, “you’ve set up this wonderful date.”
“But you…”
“Haven’t done anything except be there. Give it time.”
“And thank you for that.”
She leaned back, though closer than before. Almost resting her nose against his, she inhaled swiftly and gave him a smooch across the lips.
As she predicted, he grew flush, but instead of attempting to cover it, he simply smiled and kissed her lightly back.
CHAPTER 4
The months passed, and the two lovebirds saw each other almost constantly. They spent most of their meetings chatting in each other’s arms in a park someplace, with the occasional kiss. One day, in December, Lyssa had just laid down for a nap in front of the television when her phone chirped irritably in the dining room. Yawning widely, she plucked the cell from its holder on the plaster wall. “Nyello?” she muttered in a stupor, and yawned again.
“Hi,” said a voice unsurely “It is Alex. I’m having a-”
Lyssa perked up, in mind and body. “Alex! It’s good to talk to you! Even if it’s only been a day or so.”
“Yep. Still beautiful to hear your voice... Anyways, Lathon and I are throwing a big Christmas party at our place. And, of course, I thought you might want to come!”
“Absolutely!” the rabbit exclaimed merrily, “The last time I went to a party was… geez, years ago!”
After giving her the address, Alex clicked the phone into its cradle and sprung off to finish preparations for the party soon at hand. Lathon busily set up a karaoke machine in the corner and Alex hauled the large cooler of soda up from the basement. On his way up, however, Lathon caught him by the shoulder, smiled, and peered into his plastic container. His expression quickly soured when he saw the innocent contents, however. “Where’s all that beer I got, A? There’s a REASON I got so much; Not just to carry around, ya’know.”
“You know my thoughts on alcohol, ‘L’.” He playfully spat the final consonant into Lathon’s face. “I do not think it needs to be at my party, especially given that most of the guests today are going to be underclassmen.”
“I’m not saying YOU have to drink any; I’d like to, though.”
“I am aware of that. And if you would like to, then all the freshmen would like to, as well. Keep them in mind.”
“Well, that’s not very nice if we don’t oblige their cares, huh!”
Alex stifled his laughter, choosing instead to smirk knowingly. “Oh yes, how TERRIBLE of us, not to give beer to kids.”
“Well… Not my fault if they drink too much. And get caught.”
“If you want the beer, drink it yourself. Keep it out of the party.”
“If you say so.”
Two and a half hours later, with the party in full swing and no Lyssa in sight, Alex sagged into the armchair in tired resignation. The party, though quite successful, still lacked something for him. Sure, gaggles of women fawned over him as the host of the largest party on campus in a while, but he knew that it would pass. Besides, he had only one lady in mind, who ha-
*Ding, dong!* The doorbell interjected into his thoughts like a ray of light in a sea of darkness. His ears sprang skyward, along with the rest of his vulpine person as he agily raced to the door.
Standing outside the door patiently, Lyssa waited in her auburn shirt, cream-colored vest, and green skirt. She had pinned her unruly hair into a bun for the day, and knew Alex would notice. He always did. But Alex didn’t open the door. A tall, blonde squirrel, reeking of alcohol and someone else’s perfume, greeted her, his eyes half-closed. “You have an invitation?” the drunk somberly queried.
“Uhm… Alex asked me to come…” Lyssa responded unsurely, averting his gaze.
“Ohhh! Yeah. C’mon in.”
By this time, Alex (preceding a horde of ladies) had worked through the throngs of people to the door. Flying from their collective grasp, he collided merrily with his mate. “You are here! It is wonderful to see you!” A kiss, straight on the lips, caused the entire group to sigh in tandem and regress into the party. The drunken doorman did the same.
“Yeesh,” Lyssa said with a disgusted grimace, “I hate drunks.”
“I am sorry. Lathon is not usually like this; only at parties… anyway, come on in. We are just getting karaoke started.” They both grinned to each other and headed through the door.
No one would have flagged Alex as the power-metal type, but he proved them wrong with his karaoke rendition of several famous songs of the genre. Competently rounding his way through punk, metal, blues, rock and country, he dominated the scene and displayed his musical prowess. Next on the mike, a VERY drunken cougar warbled out “Sweet Home Alabama,” followed by an angry (and screamo) rhino. Not one to be outdone, Lyssa stepped up to the machine and pressed the red-glowing ‘RANDOM’ light. Ominously, the indicator on top of the screen flashed on, causing a stir and a consensus of “Ooooh” from the rest of those present. After flicking through a few strange titles, like “Flies of the Lord” and “Super Jumpy AllDeath Time,” the machine landed on something. Immediately, the song taxed the small speakers with screaming and booming, but anyone watching the small rabbit at the stand would know that she produced half the noise. Lips moving faster than the eye could see, ears flat back alongside her hair and eyes squeezed shut, she belted every syllable of the blackmetal aria. Alex felt his jaw fall flat to the floor, and after the song (and a moment to collect himself) he went up to hug Lyssa right off the platform.
After the party, when most of the guests had left, Lyssa trotted up to Alex. Surprised she hadn’t left yet, Alex pecked her on the cheek and asked her for her thoughts. “I thought I’d… help you clean up,” she said cheerily. “Well, help’s always appreciated!” he responded welcomingly, surveying the den. Ignoring the strewn paper and plasticware, several incriminating brown bottles and packages littered the already-dirty room.
Lyssa half-smiled, and half-smirked. “I can imagine.”
Together, they worked through the heaps of refuse and discarded food wrappers, and surveyed their impeccable work. “So… this is the den. Usually less full of stuff, of course.” The small, two, garishly-plaid couch sat placidly to their left across a wide expanse of ivory carpet from the ample television.
“OK, can I see the rest of the house?” the bunny queried wryly.
Wondering as to the motive of this, Alex complied unsurely. “Here’s Lathon’s bedroom, and the spare.” Indicating to a pair of rooms across a hallway from each other, Alex moved up the stairs. He pointed to another doorway, this time closed. “That’s my bedroom, and here’s the computer lounge.”
“Can I see?” Lyssa rhetorically asked, already turning the handle into her boyfriend’s room.
Luckily, he had picked up in anticipation for the party.
Click! The portal opened to a sea green, queen-sized bed against the left wall, the only thing her subconscious mind could focus on. Still, she probed the domicile futilely for a distraction.
Admonishing his heart for its furious palpitations, Alex denounced them as perverted fluff. Futilely, he ducked into the computer room and tried to busy himself with computer work; Anything to get my mind off this voyeuristic pornography, he feverishly reminded himself. I am sure nothing is going to happen. “Hey, Alex! C’mere!” Lyssa shouted eagerly from his room. Scratch that, he realized, sauntering slowly in and closing the door.
“Sit down!” she said offeringly, patting the bed next to her. He once again complied.
With a smooch on the cheek, she gushed, “Thanks so much for inviting me!”
He returned her affection. “Thank you for coming.”
Smooch. “No, thanks for setting this up.”
Smooch. “No, thank YOU for being here.”
As such continued the pattern, more and more heated until Alex pulled away from her embrace, re-buttoning his pants. “I suppose now is the time to ask… How far would you like to take this?”
Though already flush with their encounter so far, Lyssa opulently blushed at the query, and pondered her answer. Cutting off her thoughts once more, however, Alex, pensively asked, “I am willing to let our relationship go only as far as you are… so where is that point? Kissing? Tongue-ing? Sex?!?” And at his final statement, Lyssa smiled broadly, blushed further, and latched onto his face with a leaping glomp-kiss. “Hmmphgh!” Alex uselessly quoted, and at Lyssa’s next release informed her he had no protection present. Only slightly set back by this, he signaled he would return and rolled downstairs to knock on Lathon’s door. “Hey, Lath? Can I come in quick?”
“Sure, sure.” His door swung open, with the muscular, now-bespectacled rodent lying stomach-down on his bed, scritching homework into a notebook full of scribbles. “Whaddaya need?” he inquired, without so much as looking up.
”Uh, ya’see, Lyssa and me were kinda, and we’re kinda uuhm and y’know stuff and things are st--”
“Top drawer. Condoms. Just take a few for now, and a few for the morning.” Lathon indicated to his squat bureau in the corner without sparing a glance.
“Urhm. Thanks.” Alex did as instructed, and wandered back to his room. Attempting to regain his composure, he walked inside, flipped one of the packets open, and closed the door.
=========================


This is the point I've written to so far. Except that previously mentioned, this work is entirely composed by and is the work of Whackamole2, and cannot be destributed/sold without my knowledge and consent (though I'm honestly at a loss for why you would.)
Any reactions?

[Luther]

A very well written and intresting story if you ask me.
I really enjoyed reading it, didnt see one misspelling and it was easy to read.

-L

[whackamole2]

Thanks!
I plan to continue writing it, and will update with any significant portion that I concoct.

[whackamole2]

Updated. Basically, read it again, 'cuz I re-did a bunch of stuff from the beginning and added more.

Also, I'm looking for an artist to help me make a webcomic of it, but that's unimportant. I'll repost this ad someplace else.