A/N: OK as with "The Vulpine Prince" this fic is also drawing closer to it's end. When they end then "Beyond the Foxes Eyes" will be posted, so look out for that fic when it comes! I know that many of you will read it! Now back on topic. I bet you'll all enjoy what I've got in store for this fic. And to answer Taz, I could do a whole scenario on Wolf's background and past with Leon but the focus of this fic is not Wolf O' Donnell. I don't plan on making a fic based on Wolf's past at all for this one. Oh and why the chapter is called "Shane"? You'll see.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Star Fox, Nintendo and/or Rare do. Any relation to my original characters in anyway is entirely coincidental.

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Chapter 15: Shane

It was the lunch period now and Katt was still annoyed at the fact that of all the furs in the entire school, Krystal had to get to Shane before she did. She sat at the table with Fox and his gang but noticed that Krystal or Shane weren't there. Katt glanced around and noticed the two of them sitting at a table by themselves. The sight made Katt a little angry. But again she thought about how Fox was hers at least.

Katt sat down next to Fox but for some reason couldn't bring herself to stop thinking about Shane. Why couldn't she stop thinking about Shane? It didn't make much of any sense to her at all. She had just told herself that she loved Fox more than Shane and now she was…jealous. She was jealous of Krystal, and she didn't like it at all. 'How can I be jealous of HER?'

Her thoughts were distracted when she felt Fox take her paw in his. "What's up?" He asked rocking back and forth in his chair.

Katt shook her head, "It's nothing."

Fox had his fair share of 'nothing' as well. Fox knew something was up, and he noticed that Katt was actually looking at Krystal. But was it Krystal…or was it Shane?

Katt turned to face Fox, unsure of anything else she could really say. Then she finally decided that since Krystal was going with Shane, why not…"You're going to Bill's right?" She interrupted her own thoughts. Fox smiled and nodded. "Well, why not go with me? We can go together."

"Of course we can go." Fox beamed and Wolf shot him a look. Fox ignored it.

Bill got up from the table and decided to walk around a little bit. "I'll be back, I just got to go and see someone."

***

Shane and Krystal were unsure of what they were doing. They were enjoying each other's company and neither of them cared what anyone else was saying. The only part that seemed very strange to Shane was that…he felt like old times with Krystal so many months ago.

Just then Bill plopped down beside them and smiled. "So how's it going?" He began. Bill was actually a really cool fur when he wasn't stuck in a book or being a God. "Shane can we speak over there please?" Bill nudged him on. He had to talk to Shane for a moment and he wanted Shane to actually talk.

They walked off to a corner of the commons and Bill took off his shades and looked Shane in the eyes. 'Here comes another lecture…' Shane thought. 'Let's get it over with.'

Then to the black fox's surprise, he smiled.

"I thought it was over between you and Krystal?"

Shane tapped his foot on the ground a little bit and held his head down for a couple of seconds. "It isn't exactly what it looks like. We're not going out if that's what your thinking." Shane said defensively.

"I never said that, but I thought you both hated each other? Now you're acting as if nothing ever happened?"

"Because 'nothing' is the best way to describe it." Shane suddenly sounded to Bill. "But you were right I guess. I did miss her."

Bill smiled. "Am I ever wrong?" He joked. Even Bill knew he couldn't play God. They both started back to Krystal. "Well, Fox seems more into Katt than anybody." Bill said. "And with how you and Krystal are acting, if you really want her again than I would ask her before someone else does."

"Whatever." Shane said. If anything, he knew that someone would say something like that. It wasn't that he hadn't planned on it or anything; it was that it wouldn't be long before the rumors and such started.

They both had a seat with Krystal and she was glad Shane was back. She motioned over to him and sat down in the chair next to the black fox.

Bill looked around more for someone that he knew. Well actually, Bill knew everybody in the school practically, but he wanted to find someone who was actually a friend and not an acquaintance. "I'll see you two later." Bill was up and off again. Just then the bell rang.

***Later that day…

Shane dropped Krystal off at home before he went home himself. It was nice to be good friends with Krystal again, but perhaps they were going about it much to quickly. As Shane drove himself home that thought was on his mind. 'What if this is all some sort of sick twisted joke?' He wondered to himself. 'What if she feels nothing at all and she wants to just go back to a normal friendship?' But Krystal's actions that morning didn't make it seem that way. As Shane got to his house and pulled up in the driveway he couldn't help but think this. He got out of his car and slammed the door with Krystal still on his mind. "This can't be real." He muttered to himself.

He crept inside his house and quickly made his way to his room. As with most of the teenage kits, his parents weren't home. They were at work just like most of the working community was at this hour.

In his room he opened up a drawer on his nightstand and pulled out a notebook. This tome revealed lots about who Shane was, but he hadn't written in it in so long. He had five of them at his disposal that were full of writings. Writings he had since he was nine years old. Seven years worth. Now on his sixth 'journal' as many of the other furs called it, he had stopped writing in it. Shane didn't refer to his tome as a 'journal' or a 'notebook.' He actually called it a 'diary' even if it was just a notebook. A plain black notebook.

Of course around other guys he always referred to it as a 'journal'. He began to flip through this one seeing when he last wrote down an entry. The last entry he saw was January 20, 2003. He wanted to read it, but his memory had savored the day already. That was the day that he and Krystal broke up. It was on a Monday and of course seeing Krystal for the rest of that week didn't help any. Just the day before they had shared their first kiss and he wrote that down too.

He sighed at the memory of the two days. He always thought about how he could change them. Perhaps saying, "I love you" wasn't the right thing to say. In fact, that's how most relationships end. It all goes smooth until you whisper those three words.

He started to read the entry but then stopped. "I don't need this to remind me how painful that day was…"

He lie back on his bed and started flipping through several pages. Lots of thing had happened to him, but why did he stop after the worst day of his life? He'd been through lots of heartbreak and it always made him write more. But when it came to Krystal he had put the pen down and stopped. He was usually motivated to write more poems and stories when he was hurt or angry. Yet when Krystal had come along it made him stop. "Best not to dwell on it." Shane had to break the silence.

For some reason Shane was saddened. Why was he so sad? He had Krystal back, somewhat. But perhaps it was because he wanted something with Krystal again. "But dammit!" He rasped. "Fox always has to step into the picture." He said and dropped the notebook on his face.

Sure, Shane would openly admit that he was jealous of Fox. He also didn't like the fact that several girls would waste their time on Fox when he always rejected them. He'd never gotten close to many other girls. Not since Fara anyway. But with Krystal and Katt there was difference. Or was there?

'Stop thinking so much!' Shane told himself. He sat up and put the notebook back in the drawer and swung his feet over the edge of his bed and let them dangle for a moment before he slid forward and came to a stance.

Shane sighed once more. "Forget it." He told himself. 'No one wants a fur like me anyway.' He told himself. 'I've got no special qualities. I'm not that artistic…I'm not athletic and I'm certainly not the greatest looking boy around.' Shane told himself. Most of the kits and kids at his school only went out with someone to be seen, or so Shane though. 'How many of those couples can honestly say they love their mate?' He wondered to himself.

Shane wasn't like that though. Of course there was the physical attractiveness that he like a lot, but what good was a girl going to do for him if she didn't care about him? Shane had seen several human boys that go after a gorgeous girl. Without a doubt they were beautiful girls, but they were stuck up. Shane would never understand why they kept going after a girl. Then of course there was the moment when they actually got that girl. But that was also a sad sight to see. A girl that could wrap you around your finger just by her looks. Shane hated to see that. Then when they find out they're being milked and used they still continue to go out with that girl. Shane didn't understand this. 'Maybe it's for selfish reasons.' He thought. By "selfish" he meant for the girl. 'The guy knows he's not getting anything out of it, but maybe he stays to satisfy the girl.' Then it happens, they get dumped. Shane didn't want to end up like that. Krystal wasn't like a lot of the beautiful girls. She wasn't stuck up and self-centered like most of the girls he'd met. She was actually…different.

'But I did end up like those guys!' Shane pounded his dresser. He HAD noticed that Krystal wanted out of the relationship and he HAD chased her for her beauty. He was no different than the human boys he'd seen. 'So why did I continue with it?' He pondered. Better yet, why did Krystal?

"Stop thinking!" He exclaimed out loud and at that very moment the doorbell rang.

Shane rushed downstairs to answer the door in hopes that it would be Krystal. When he answered the door it was, to his dismay, Katt. "Hey." He said trying not to show his disappointment that rather than the vixen of his dreams being there, it was a cat that he didn't like as much.

"Can I come in?" Katt said but it didn't much matter since she pretty much invited herself in. She didn't give time for Shane to say 'yes' but perhaps she already knew it wouldn't matter.

She sat down on one of the chairs in his living room. Shane didn't mind this, and he sat down in another chair. "You want something to drink?" He asked.

"No thanks. I came here just to visit." She replied with a sweet voice.

Shane wanted to know what was going on but didn't show it. Katt was a mischievous fur at times and for that he didn't really want her in the house. But he also knew that Katt wasn't one to get in trouble a lot. "You're not here about me going with Krystal to Bill's part are you?"

"No, whatever gave you that idea?" Katt swallowed nervously. There was that word again, nervous. Katt had found out that she got nervous around guys after all.

"Because I know you." Shane replied. "If you'd have asked me before Krystal I'd have gone with you."

"I know you would have. You're sweet like that." She commented.

"We could go as a group you know. It's not like I'm going with Krystal as a couple. You could come with us. You and Fox."

'You HAD to bring him to this didn't you!?' Katt thought. But that would be a great idea! It would give Katt a chance to see just what kind of guy Shane really was. She couldn't help but think that he was putting on an act, but he had changed a lot since he and Krystal broke up. He hadn't talked about humans since then.

"Sure we could go as a group." Katt said. "That way we could all party together."

"Krystal and I were going to go somewhere after…you guys want to come?" Shane asked. He knew by the way Krystal had said it that it should've just been her and Shane but Shane didn't want to make Katt feel bad. He wasn't oblivious to this "The Fox is Mine" game either. Of course he also thought that it was really Fox they were after but he couldn't help but think he was a part of the game as well.

"No, I think I'll just hang out with Fox afterwards." Katt said. She wasn't going to be cruel to Krystal and intervene in her moment with Shane. Katt did have a heart after all, but when it came to guys, Katt could sometimes be cold.

"You seem troubled by it all." Shane couldn't help but notice. "You're not mad at Krystal are you?"

"No, I'm not mad…it's just that--"

"You're not used to 'losing' to her?" Shane finished for her.

"Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it."

Shane sat down on the armrest next to Katt. "You shouldn't think of it as a competition." Shane looked at her sternly. "Besides, I don't think Krystal would ever want to go out with me again."

It was then that Katt's next question took him by surprise. "Would you ever go out with me Shane? Ever?"

The question struck him with awe. He didn't know exactly how to answer that question. But since he'd been thinking about it lately. "Sure, sometime I guess." He didn't shrug or anything. He told her exactly what was on his mind about it.

"Would you really?"

'What's with her all of a sudden?' He thought and had to try real hard not to roll his eyes to the question. "Yeah. I'm sure."

"But…why?" The fact that Katt noticed she stood a chance with him surprised her. She had to find out what it was about Shane that made him actually WANT to date her at one point or another.

Shane stood up and faced Katt. What was it about her that made him actually SAY that in the first place? "Well, you're beautiful for one thing." He walked up to her. "You're kind and understanding of me. Most importantly you tolerate me." He smirked. "But I guess it's because of how we can communicate."

It was reassuring to Katt to know that Shane didn't think low of her. They hadn't realized it right then and there but they both liked each other for the same reasons. Shane turned around and didn't realize why he said what he did, but it was all true.

Katt walked up and hugged him from behind which didn't surprise Shane as much, since he knew what kind of fur she was. He turned around and to his surprise he embraced her for the moment. Her touch was no Krystal to him but it still felt good.

They held each other for a few minutes and Katt buried herself inside his chest. His fur was so much softer than Fox's was. She suddenly had the feeling that she was safe in Shane's arms. She closed her eyes and when she opened them they met with Shane's. His eyes were beautiful. They were a crystal powdered blue that stood out. It was impossible not to love his eyes. They made him unique in her eyes.

There was something about the sensation that didn't settle with Shane. Something about this entire moment didn't seem right to him…but he was enjoying it. Katt closed her eyes again and it was then that Shane realized just who was in his arms. "Katt…" He whispered.

She looked up at him but wouldn't let him speak anymore before she kissed him. They kissed for a good, not to mention long, ten seconds. When the kiss was broken, so was their embrace. "I shouldn't have done that…" Katt backed away.

Was this really Katt standing before him? He couldn't believe what she just said. Shane had no objections to the kiss though. He enjoyed it…almost as much as she did. "Katt…" He repeated.

She covered her lips. Something was now troubling her more than before. She felt as if she'd done the worst of sin, but she hadn't done anything. "I..I gotta go now." She said and as she made her way for the door Shane had stopped her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. It was then he noticed that he had reached out for her paw.

Katt held her tongue and for some reason she couldn't find the words anymore. "I got to go, I'll see you tomorrow." She said and was out the door in a flash.

Shane put a finger to his lips. He had no idea what just happened either.

***

She stormed out of his house and started to walk home. She knew what she did and she didn't like it. But she DID! 'I shouldn't have done that…' She told herself. It made her passion for Shane grow even more. That kiss was just too perfect for her. They just slipped into it and now Katt was making a big deal about it in her mind.

"It was just a kiss!" She beamed out loud. "It didn't mean anything at all!" That's what she WANTED to believe at first. Until now there didn't seem to be anyone out there better than Fox. But now there was Shane. She felt so much more comfort around him, and she felt more secure.

It was clear why she didn't like that kiss now. It made her lust more for Shane than it did Fox. Now she wanted HIM more than Fox. She stopped on her way home and sat on the curb. "This isn't right." She told herself. "Shane isn't meant for me…so why do I feel so strongly towards him?"

She couldn't but admit that she LOVED that kiss. It was probably the greatest she'd ever experienced before, and that was saying a lot. As she thought about it a car pulled up beside her and the window on the driver's side rolled down and out peaked Fox's head. "Need a ride home?"

'Great…' Katt thought. This wasn't the time to see Fox.

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A/N: OK, I'm trying to find the best way to explain this chapter…and I can't really do that just yet. But let's just say that Katt (obviously) wasn't herself after that kiss. It seems that now the game has changed…