Duke was in his dorm, laying on his bed a magazine he saw on a rack outside on campus. What struck him about the magazine in particular was the fact that almost every page had some kind of ad for some kind of shirt or other product that adorned the logo Zootopia Tech. It reminded the weasel of something his dad told him. Something about subtle marketing. But this was anything but subtle.
His ears flicked as Travis came trudging back from his class with a heavy sigh. He threw his things to the floor and mumbled something to himself.
"Everything alright?" Duke asked, not looking up from the pages.
"Not really. No..." Travis sighed and plopped down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Anything I can do?" Duke asked in a pitched voice, finding the ferret's pouting both cute and annoying.
"Not unless you have 300 dollars to spare," Travis groaned, sitting up to face his roommate. "I thought I had all I needed when I first enrolled in the class. But oh no… Surprise, surprise. All of a sudden I need 2 whole textbooks that were never mentioned before..," the ferret finished his rant and laid back down on the bed.
"You can't just call up your home and ask for it?" Duke suggested.
"What? No way!" Duke sprung back into an upright position. "They spend nearly everything they had just to get me here in the first place…Back in Bunnyburrow, farmers or not, money doesn't grow on trees."
"Alright, I get it," Duke nodded in understanding. He smiled a bit and continued. "So. How long have you got to find the money?"
"Ugh. Two days," Travis groaned and once again fell on his bed.
"Well, say that you were given 300 dollars right now. Would that help you out?" Duke eluded, the smirk growing wider across his face.
"Of course it will! But who's just gonna give-," Travis stopped in realization and gasped. "Oh no! No way! You can't just…"
"Yes, I can. And I will," Duke interrupted and snickered. "Don't worry about it, Trav."
"Well, alright," Travis took a deep breath and stood up from the bed. As the ferret grew closer Duke could feel his breath catch in his throat. He looked at the ferret with that adorable expression on his face. "Thanks, Duke. Really, I can't thank ya enough," Travis said, snapping the weasel back to the present.
"Uh, yeah. Don't worry about it," Duke gulped. He composed himself and continued. "Heh. Just buy those books and make sure you pass that class so it won't be for nothing!" Travis chuckled at that, making Duke brighten up as well. He liked seeing Travis' smile. It was something not often seen due to the ferret's rather timid nature. But every time Duke saw his roommate smile it made him feel something inside that made him want to smile as well.
Duke had given Travis the money he needed after assuring Travis again that he didn't need to worry about anything. Travis rushed off to buy the textbooks, leaving the weasel to ponder about what he should do.
Should I ask him out? Is he even into me? All he really cares about is studying... Duke thought to himself and the image of Travis' smile once again made its way into his mind. Yeah, I'll do it. When the time is right.
Travis soon returned to the dorm with a sigh that came from his effort rather than any problem he would have. Duke took that as a good sign that things went well enough.
"Get it over with?" Duke asked, getting up and stretching.
"Yeah, thanks again," Travis chuckled. "So, you just have, like, 300 dollars laying around? Or are you saving it for something?" the ferret asked with a hint of concern in voice.
"I just had it on me. It's okay, Travis. Really," Duke waved it off. "My parents are super loaded. It's nothing like I said."
"Yeah… But you never mentioned they were rich," Duke gasped in awe.
"And can we keep that between the two of us? As far as everyone else is concerned I'm just some party weasel that does enough studying to keep his grades up. If anyone knew about it…. I just want the college experience, not a bunch of fake friends and girls that try and get with me just for money," Duke huffed.
"Yeah, I'll keep it between us. And I get about girls only wanting you for money but isn't having girls chasing after you a good thing?" Travis asked. There was a certain tone to the ferret's voice that Duke picked up on and felt a fluttery feeling in his stomach. He recognized it as the same subtle tone his step mom used when she was trying to trap his dad into admitting something.
"Heh, well I'm not really looking for girls right now; so yeah," Duke answered with a wide grin. He was a quick expression flash across Travis' face and just as quickly faded.
"Well, either way. You're secret's safe with me. But I can't just go without even thanking you properly," Travis clicked his teeth. "If you need help with anything I'll be more than happy to help ya out."
"Thanks, Trav. I appreciate it," Duke smiled back. The two went back to normal about their days. Duke went off to his class while Travis cleaned up around the place. While he did he was also lost in thought.
He was thinking about what Duke said earlier about not looking for girls. Did that mean he had a chance? It was a thought that made the ferret pretty excited.
Is he even into me? I mean I think he is. Oh man, but what about that time I kissed him! But I was drunk out of my mind when I did it. And he only mentioned it once! But he did say I was a good kisser. So... So that means that he liked it! So I could have a chance!
The front door knob jiggled and the ferret's ears twitched in response. He quickly rushed to his bed and made himself look busy.
"Hey, Trav! GUESS WHAT?!" Duke yelled, throwing the dorm room open.
"Hmm, what is it?" Travis' asked calmly, hoping that they just didn't get a noise complaint.
"This weekend the Feral House is having a rager. We gotta go!" Duke's muzzle was wide in excitement and his eyes had a child-like brightness to them. Travis gave a slight chuckle and remembered that he wanted to do something for Duke. After what happened at the last party he went to the ferret was more than willing to sit this one out. But looking at the expression on the weasel's face. He just couldn't say no to it.
"Yeah. It sounds like fun," Travis smiled as well. "J-just uh. I'll make sure to keep close to you so we don't get a repeat of last time."
"Getting plastered or the kiss?" Duke asked with a coy look on his face, leaning closer.
"The former. Maybe if you're lucky you'll get a repeat of that," Travis was surprised by his own words, having no idea where they came from.
"Hmm, we'll see. I'll be right back," Duke waved a claw, turning around to leave the dorm once again.
Travis was once again left alone with his thoughts. He imagined what the Feral House must be like. He heard about it before. It was known as the frat house on campus and every party they threw was wilder than the last. He heard a rumor that most of the parties only ended because the cops were eventually called. It made Travis wonder how the house was still a thing if that were the case.
The thought of pounding music and larger animals shoving him around or even nearly stepping on him was not appealing in the least. But the thought of being there with Duke made him think that it wouldn't be that bad. He laid back on the bed and figured he better start mentally preparing himself.