Hidden Hearts

04 - Joining The Team

Josh

After lunch, Max had offered to bring me to the the track meet so I can talk to coach and sign up for the team. Although he seemed to want to talk beforehand, after our little talk at lunch he seemed very out of it. I tried to get his attention every now and again but he seemed to drift off right after giving me a response.

Is the fact that he doesn't remember me eating away at him? Maybe I should just tell him? But, what if he just gets even more confused and distraught when he still can't remember who I am? I don't want to cause any unnecessary stress on him, especially since he's studying to become a doctor. And by what I know, studying medicine is not at all easy and I am perfectly fine with bioengineering as my major.

But still, seeing him this pensive felt rather awkward. Yet he still manages to lead the way without bumping into anyone despite the fact he's not focusing on reality. I guess autopilot has got him covered.

"Hey, you okay?", I ask. I hoped that he would drop it  or even forget about it. It wasn't really anything important since we weren't all that close back then. Does he really think he could remember the literal dozen other students who went to high school with him? And also, I would've thought he didn't want to remember about high school. Then again, he might have forgotten about high school since he doesn't remember me nor was he averse to hearing its name.

"Yeah, I'm fine", he repeated yet again. I sigh in defeat as I realised this will be getting nowhere. It seems once he puts his mind to it, he is too focused to just stop until he gets his answers.

Although the walk was not really how I wanted it to be, with Max all silent and serious, I managed to properly see the college in all of its glory. Sure, there were pictures on the website but seeing the place physically was entirely different feeling all together. Pictures really don't do justice to just how beautiful the scenery is around campus. Then again, this is practically a rich kids institute.

It proved to be quite a walk from the cafeteria to our destination. Or maybe Max had just been walking around in circles and I had been following blindly whilst looking at the scenery around me.

Either way, a heavy sigh escaped his mouth as he straightens his posture and walks slightly faster than before. I was taken slightly off guard as I quicken my pace to match his so I don't get left behind. If its one thing I truly do know about Max is that he really enjoys running. As a sport and a hobby.

Despite his size, he's quite fast which usually throws some furs off when they see him running. In truth, Max had been the reason I had gotten into running in the first place. Even when we met was just a brief moment as he had to graduate soon, I took a liking to him even before he changed into the Max he is now. It felt weird at the time. I had thought what I felt was just a feeling of friendship.

When I saw him alone while others had gone to their friends, I wanted to go up to him and just say hi. Before his sudden growth spurt and muscle gain, he was quite the scrawny and short kid. Cause of that, he was bullied a lot.

I always just wanted to go up to him and ask to be friends. But each time I built up the courage to do so, I lost it all once I looked at him.

After his change to the current looking Max albeit a bit less muscular, the feelings I held for him felt stronger and stronger. I didn't know why I felt that way to him. I mean, a normal furs reaction to seeing a tall buff dude was to feel intimidated but all I felt was just a desire. A desire to be with him. A desire to be near him.

A desire to be hi-

"We're here."

A voice snaps me out of my thoughts as I reel myself back into reality. I had stopped walking just in time as Max had also stopped. We had arrived at the track field though no one was here. I look to Max as I see him looking at his phone.

"We're here a bit early. You can sit down by the bench there if you want. The meet starts in 20 minutes but the coach will be here five minutes before the meet starts."

I nod as he places his bag down before unzipping it and grabbing his running attire. He then heads behind the bleachers as I decide to sit on it.

Now, where was I?

Oh, yes. I don't really know how it happened really. Maybe, I was lucky at the time or maybe someone was looking out for me but one day, he just approached me. Yeah, he approached me.

He asks if I want to hang out and well, of course I agreed. I had been yearning to be his friends for the entirety of my high school years. I thought my feelings would be quelled once I had become his friend but I found out it wasn't just as simple as friendship. Too late, I found out once he had left for college that I missed him despite our meetings briefs and our talks short. I realised at that moment that I had grown feelings for the wolf, something I wasn't accustomed to at all yet instead of scaring me, it excited me.

And now, when I am here with him, I feel unsure as I realised the possibility of him being completely straight is extremely high. I don't even know what to do so I try and hide these feelings as I focus back into reality.

Not soon as I had come back mentally, I see a fit cheetah man dressed like a coach approaching. He jogs his way over and upon noticing me, greets me and asks me a question.

"Hey. What are you doing here, kid?"

"Oh, uh. I want to, er, sign up for track."

" Ah, that's no problem. So, name?"

He pulls out a pen as he looks down on the clipboard that he held.

"Josh Tetherway."

"This your first year here?"

"Yes, it is."

"Got any respiratory problems? Like asthma?

"No, I don't"

"Okay, have you participated in any marathons before?"

"I've done a few marathons. Around three."

"What placings?'

"5th, 8th and 3rd respectively."

"Okay, I'll have to print out a new one later but first, take this."

He hands me a piece of paper which looked like a form.

"You'll have to write your ID, birth date and the like so I can properly register you for the team. For today, you can stay and watch the team practice if you want to."

I nod as I look over the form again. Well, I might as well do it now. As I went to grab my bag, I noticed someone had sat beside and before I could stop myself from screaming, I realised it was Max. How the fuck did he sneak up on me like that?! I didn't even hear or see him walk out from behind the bleachers nor did the coach even indicated that he had been there.

"Er, sorry about that. I'm surprisingly quiet when I walk sometimes", he sheepishly apologises.

"It's fine. Maybe, give me a tap or something before you do something like that."

"Yeah, I will. Still, sorry."

Recovering from my near heart attack, I went back to grab my back to retrieve a pen so I could fill out this form here and now. Might as well since I don't think it would ever be filled if I went back to my room now.