Welcome To The Wild! *BETA*

A Gay Panic😨 (June 5, 2023)

"Finally! The Swamp Dragon! I exclaimed to Mars, squeezing his tiny hand. "I've been wanting to breed this fella since I had my old account!" I clicked on the water habitat and was greeted with the ID card for the dragon. "Ooh~ I'll put him here.. It looks best with the water habitat anyway." Just then, I heard a ding and a notification popped up on my IPad.
'What does the furry flag look like' it read. I knew immediately from the lack of punctuation, emojis, or sarcasm that it was Selah. I clicked on it, fully prepared to write a paragraph or two explaining why I'm not a furry.
'What💀' I said in response, indicating that I was a bit upset with the question. Quickly, I got a follow up.
'What does it look like' Oh god.
'I don't think it's a thing; why you askin' me this😭' She took a minute this time.
'What do you mean'
'I don't think there is a flag for furries.'
'Cause I want a furry tattoo' Oh man. What. The. Hell. I pretended to be supportive, but something in me was telling me that this was an undercover insult to my past.
'Wow, that's awesome' just like the Tik Tok meme. Perfect.
'Do you think I should'
'I mean, it's a bit different, but if you want one..'
'Will you make me one' I let out an audible sigh before writing back.
'Do you STILL think I'm a furry?'
I waited, watching the screen. However, after a solid minute thirty, I simply went back to playing Dragon Mania Legends. However, the next notification I received made my jaw drop to the floor and my soul ditch my body.
'...Did you like me ?????'
My eyes widened and begun to water. My heart had begun thumping faster. Plus, I dropped Mars from my grasp, letting him tumble onto the floor.
"..how.. how did she find out??" I let out quiet and weakly.
No matter the sheer amount of stress that was going through my body, I had to keep my cool. How I reacted could make or break me.
'WHAT💀'
'Do you'
'NAH.' There I stood, every hair, feather, and whisker on my body pricked up; petrified. How will Selah see me when I go back to school?!
'Nooo.. I do'
I gulped and cocked my shaky head. Huh? There's no way.. only by miracle would Selah like me back! I was about to confess, but stopped. I should ask Azul. She knows EVERYTHING about the other popular kids, right? What if this was a trap?
I swiped off of the messages app, rushing to FaceTime Azul. My first attempt was a fail, being sent straight to the 'call declined' screen. Just then, I got a snap notification from her.
'What is it?'
'SELAH JUST FOUND OUT WE NEED TO CALL NOW😨'
'OH MY GOD BE FR'
Just then, I was called by Azul herself this time.
As soon as I clicked 'answer', I was met with Azul's shocked looking face, staring down at me.
"You're kidding?!"
"N-N-No! Selah just randomly asked me about the f-furry flag and then asked about IT. H-how, how'd-" I took a shaky breath in. "H-how did she even find out?" It felt like I was choking over my own words; as if they were thick, poisonous fumes being spewed out my throat.
Azul suddenly dropped the act of being surprised and proceeded to comb her fur. "Oh, Lucky and Apollo. Pretty sure they only told like Wren and Nicole n' stuff.. I didn't expect her to find out this soon!"
"No crap!" I felt my hands begin to violently shake. Something inside me told me to go further; respond to Selah's accusations. "What- what should I say? I-is she serious?"
"NO, DON'T ADMIT!" Azul frantically waved her hands in front of the camera. "SHE'S AT A HUGE HANGOUT WITH WREN, NICOLE, BROOKE, AND A TON OF OTHERS." She said firmly.
"Oh god.. thanks for t-telling me.. I knew I wasn't that lucky.."
"Don't. Respond." Azul warned.
"I- I already did.. I said 'what?'"
"Well, as long as you don't make it seem suspicious or admit to it, you'look be ok."
Just then, I heard my mom open the door.
"Hey, I got your food out here. It's some sort of shrimp thing? I think you'll like it."
I hurriedly clicked on the hang up button and tried my hardest not to completely freak in front of Angie; the makeshift boot camp Sargent.
"Y-yeah, coming right out!" Thank god, she walked out without noticing my violent twitching or heavy breathing!
'Sorry, Angie came in. I have to go eat dinner and I can barely breathe..' I sent Azul.
'Oh. Good luck😬'
I put down my IPad and grasped tightly onto Sage, my Spinach Can plushie. I couldn't do anything but curl into a ball and lay down; dissociating to process what I'd just read.
My head pounded and my fur stood straight up. I was shaking and twitching at the same time; my body in fight or flight mode. I was panting, even though I hadn't moved a single step off my bed in the past hour. My eyes remained wide, and my pupils slit. My lugs felt like they could collapse any minute; and my closing windpipe definitely wasn't helping.
I should have seen it coming! Lucky, that dirty little tattling weasel! And- I thought Apollo was trustworthy? Why, HOW could he do this to me? I've listened to all his stupid little rants about his past and his travels and his racist jokes; and he repays me like THIS?
"CRIMSON, DINNER'S READY!" I heard Angie call out from the kitchen.
I pushed my heavy, cumbersome body up off the bed and slid out of bed. My legs felt more like stilts than part of my real body; wobbly and unstable. I waddled to the bathroom, staring into the mirror. My ears were pinned back and my fur pricked up on its end; I realized that it would be nearly impossible not to notice my fear. I ran out of the bathroom and into my designated chair at the kitchen table. I stared blankly down at the black tray of shrimp and broccoli, feeling a sense of false fullness. I didn't wanna eat. I picked up the fork sat conveniently next to my tray, but I was barely able to hold it still. The thing felt like it was jumping around in my hand! Just as I predicted, Angie had noticed my awkward behavior. "Hey, honey? You seem a bit scared. Did something happen that you aren't wanting to tell me about?" I gulped. "N-no! Why-why?" She looked me up and down. "You're shaking like a drowned cat.." Oh crap. "Uh.. t-the fan is pretty c-cold in th-there.. and I-I-I was too lazy to get my blanket." I searched her eyes for disappointment or disbelief, but I found neither. She actually bought it! "Oh my god.. that iPad has taken over your life, hasn't it?" "N-No, not really." I said, picking the black pepper off of the shrimp with my fork. I had to distract myself somehow! "I wanna get out of there, bu-ut you guys are too good for anything that requires us to walk.." I said shakily. Angie sighed and grabbed a Diet Coke out of the fridge. "Excuses are like buttholes; everyone has one." She mumbled. "M'kay.. but I can't drive yet." The shakiness slowly left my voice as me and her conflicted back and fourth. Eventually, we'd just dropped it and she offered to take me out of the house with a golf cart ride. Hey, it's something, right?
I slid down from my chair and onto the cold wood floor. Even though it seemed that I wasn't too scared anymore, my legs still felt unnatural. I swung the front door open, taking a deep breath, and closing it behind me. I walked down our porch to meet Buck, who was already pulled out. Wordlessly, I hopped onto the electric blue cart. I buckled my seatbelt. No, I can't let myself fall off the cart