Kris took a drag from his cigarette while staring into the dark. His thoughts wandered to the young Lion. 

Fox.

The name fitted him. 

For a moment he'd believed something serious was going on between Safira and the kid and he felt oddly relieved that he had been wrong—and that the boy even admitted to like guys. Following these words, there had been a strange tingling in his stomach, which worried him. What had it meant? That the fact that they were both gay meant they should experiment a bit? 

Fox was a handsome guy—and sweet. 

But he was also young and innocent and vulnerable. 

Not someone you used to explore your own sexuality. 

It wasn't for no reason that the kid panicked around him whenever Kris glanced his way. In the beginning, he'd dismissed it as coincidence but by now... He didn't want the boy to be scared of him—and when Nish showed up next to them, he'd believed it was better to leave. The last thing he wanted, was for the boy to transform into an animal again and flee while Nish seemed to be eager to tease him. 

He looked to the side, to his best friend. The moon lit his face and a smile crossed his lips when their eyes met. Lately, there was a brooding tension between them, making him wonder if his feelings ascended a friendship. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't. 

The last—and only—time he'd tried to kiss someone, he'd gotten a smack in the face in return, accompanied by a death threat. Not something he wanted to experience a second time. 

"You're quiet." Nish pushed a bottle in his hand. 

Kris took a sip from the whisky. "Our house parties are never very sensational."

"Was it different before the school split into Houses?"

Nish had been at school for only a month when the five Houses were created and they were both assigned to the Buffalo's. Sometimes he forgot that Nish was also only 15 years old; he could easily pass for 17 or 18. 

"There were some parties, now and then," he answered. "But there were no Houses—just small groups of people who hung out together. We played cards, had some booze, and smoked cigarettes while listening to music... When the Houses were introduced and half of the students moved to another school, we stopped to hang out. There was some unspoken role that one was supposed to hang out with the people from their own House—although there were certainly people who didn't give a fuck."

Nish looked at him. "You think we would have been friends if we ended up in different Houses?"

Suddenly, his friend looked vulnerable. Kris felt his fingers tingle; he wanted to caress his jaw. He didn't look away when he answered: "I have no doubt I would have noticed you."

The boy swallowed. Nish's glance wandered to his lips. When he looked up again, his cheeks were flushing. 

For some reason, Kris' thoughts shot to Fox and he imagined how red his cheeks would be if he'd said those words to him. A bit confused, he shook off the image of the boy. 

Great. Now there was an awkward silence between them. 

The boy had turned his face away and stared at his knees. Was he also doubting his feelings? Kris laid an arm around Nish's shoulders and pressed his head against his. "Of course we would've been friends," he said. "Trust me—life here sucks much less since I know you."

And he meant it. Nish was a friend like he'd never had before and it made the struggle with his feelings ten times worse. 

Nish leaned against him. "If you ever find a way out of this shitty place, will you take me with you?"

"Yeah, of course." He squeezed his shoulder. "I'm going nowhere without you." He let his arm slip off Nish's shoulders and got up. "So you gotta go back to that stupid party with me, whether you like it or not."

The grin returned to Nish's face. "If you insist."

☆☆☆

For a party that used to be boring as hell, Safira did enjoy herself. Fox had a good time with the girls from her House; some were obviously interested in the spontaneous boy who felt more at home at the dancefloor than the stiffs from their own House—to which Safira herself belonged as well. The girls seemed to be less arrogant this night and she was surprised to realize she did care about it. 

Fox however paid no attention to the girls swarming around him. Again and again, his face turned towards Kris, who was standing at the side, a beer in his hand. It bothered her—especially because Kris couldn't keep his eyes off the boy either. 

Now Fox had told him right away that he was gay, she feared the impact it would have on Kris. Did he believe it was a reason to make Fox feel worthless? Those macho guys were usually not very charmed about boys like Fox. On the other hand—Kris had never taken interest in a girl and sometimes, Nish and he were so close it made her wonder if they were just friends. 

Fox however wasn't very subtle with giving hints and she didn't want Kris to take advantage of him to have a willing victim in his bed or to ridicule him because of his sexuality. She wanted to make sure he wouldn't do something like that, but preferably not under Nish's nose and without giving Fox the chance to join their conversation. She believed their short meeting was enough for today—the question whether Fox and she were in a relationship had been dubious. In any case, she had been glad that Kris left quickly without pushing Fox to try a smoke. 

Fifteen minutes later, she saw Kris walk to the table with the drinks. Fox was distracted, doing some stupid dance with a girl, and Nish still stood at the side. Kris looked at her from the side when she came to stand next to him, sensing she wasn't here for a drink. 

"Your gonna give me some big sister speech?" he asked, his eyebrows raised while he popped a beer. 

"Something like that." She gave him a cold look. "I will break your bones if you hurt him."

"I think I behave pretty decent, given the fact that he's practically undressing me with his eyes."

Exactly. Comments like these should never reach Fox's ears, for he would never dare to leave his room again. 

"He's not like that," she answered. "His fantasies don't go beyond holding hands and shy kisses in the dark."

Kris drilled his golden eyes in hers. Fox might find them beautiful; Safira thought they were cold. "And mine do? He's like a frisky little lamb. What do you think I am, a big bad wolf?"

"You're definitely not a frisky little lamb," she huffed. 

Kris pulled a second beer toward him. "You're gettin' worked up over nothing. I have no interest in him. Some of us have better things to do than babysitting in our free time."

"Good," she sneered. His words said enough. 

She could imagine Fox's brown, sad eyes if he would have heard Kris and she sighed softly. He needed to forget about Kris. She just needed to find someone else to set him up with...