A/N: For those who were wondering about the lack of an update, it's because I'm doing this thing called National Novel Writing Month. Long story short, I don't have a lot of time to write fanfiction, so there won't be many updates this month, if any. Please be patient, but for now, enjoy the chapter!

-o0o-

The rest of combat training passed by in a blur for Fox, with him and Wolf sparring for the rest of the time. The lupine won most of the matches, but Fox had managed to outdo him in some of them through his speed. Wolf did admit how fast Fox was on several occasions, much to that latter's happiness.

As the bell chimed the end of the first period, Fox and Wolf walked off of the fighting rings, moving towards the exit door. The lupine shrugged his top back on, covering his toned muscle. Fox rolled his own sleeves back down.

"What's our next class, Fox?" The lupine questioned, angling those purple eyes towards him.

"Flight tactics," the vulpine replied after a moment of thinking. He was pretty sure he knew where that classroom was.

Wolf groaned. "Christ, it's papers and shit, isn't it? I hate that stuff," he said in pain as they walked through the doorway. Fox took the lead, turning to the left just after the door.

"Don't worry; I'll help if you get stuck. I really only took this class because I had to; Dad taught me all about those stuff years ago," Fox said, smiling. He took then down a hallway with classroom doors on either side. This section looked like a normal high school. Well, then again, that's almost what this place was. Almost.

"Thanks, Fox. By the way; do you wanna keep up that thing we were doing to your friends?" The lupine asked. Fox shook his head.

"No. I want to properly introduce you to them. I want you all to be friendly with each other," Fox replied.

"Okay, that's cool. I get it," he replied.

Fox nodded, and walked a few more meters down the hall, before stopping at a door marked Room 306. Fox knew that the schedules were built so there wasn't much distance between classes. Plus, this was the only flight tactics class in the closest area that was set to the advanced level. The vulpine opened the door, and was met with a relatively normal classroom. Well, it was normal, except for the battle models on everything that wasn't a desk, as well as maps covering every inch of the walls. The tables seemed to fit two students each.

A few other students were scattered about, but no teacher. Not yet, anyway. Fox glanced about for any familiar faces, but he saw none.

Someone seemed to catch Wolf's eye, however. Fox found him staring at an orange vixen sitting at a table on the right side of the room. He started walking over to her, and Fox followed, his eyes narrowing. Who was this girl? Why was Wolf interested in her?

The vixen looked up at the two with a mildly interested expression on her face. Wolf sat in the empty table just beside her, with Fox sitting by him.

"Hi there," She said. "Who are you two?" She asked.

Wolf grinned. "Wolf. Name's Wolf. This is Fox, my friend. Who are you, gorgeous?" He asked. This sent a pang of something foreign within Fox. He felt annoyed at the vixen's very presence.

"Fara Phoenix, Wolf. And please don't flatter me; clearly there's someone better than me for you," Fara replied. Fox grimaced.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But you sure are damn fine looking, Fara," Wolf said, grinning. Fox had to use all of his restraint to prevent himself from snarling. Why was he feeling so aggressive?

The vulpine pulled Wolf's head to face him, scrutinizing the lupine's face and eyes for answers.

"What the hell, Wolf?" Fox whispered sharply.

"What? I like her," Wolf replied, slightly confused. Fox growled lowly.

"She's not worth the trouble. Find someone else, but not her," he said fiercely. Wolf chuckled.

"You like her a lot, then?" He asked. Fox shook his head vigorously, his face heating. Wolf had the completely wrong idea.

"Fuck no! Not in a million years!" The vulpine hissed. Wolf made a noise of understanding.

"Oh… I see what's going on here. You're…"

Wolf was cut off by the noise of a door slamming, and they looked over, started, to see an old looking bulldog walk in. He had fiery eyes that held authority.

"Good morning, class! This is flight tactics, so if you aren't supposed to be here, get out!" He exclaimed roughly. Apparently, nobody was, as nothing moved.

"Good, no mix ups. I'm Mr. Hemm, your instructor. Today is the start of your new class!" He exclaimed once more, pacing to the front of the room. Fox sighed inwardly. The start of a boring period. He kept catching Wolf glancing over at Fara as the instructor spoke, which upset Fox greatly, but he didn't know why.

-o0o-

Flight tactics passed by in a blur of introductions, syllabuses, and a certain lupine making passes at a vixen. By the time the bell rang to signify lunch, Fox wanted to cut Wolf's snout off to prevent him from speaking to Fara.

The two canines walked out of class, and Fox made sure to lead Wolf the clear opposite direction of Fara. They walked down the halls, towards the courtyard where the vulpine knew his friends would be waiting on them.

"I'm sorry I was hitting on Fara," Wolf muttered as they walked along. Fox's ears twitched.

"I don't get what you see in her. She's just some girl our age who's in our flight tactics class. No big deal," he replied, shrugging. Wolf scoffed.

"An insanely pretty girl at that. Did you see her gorgeous eyes?" The lupine asked. Fox rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. What's the big deal with… her eyes…" the vulpine trailed off, staring at Wolf's purple orbs.

Pretty eyes. Huh.

Fox's face heated up, his chest constricting. The lupine looked at him questioningly.

"Are you okay, Fox?" He asked, concerned. Fox nodded a little too quickly.

"Yep. Yeah! I'm alright! No problems here at all! Nope!" Fox exclaimed in slight embarrassment, opening a set of doors in their path. The two were greeted with cold autumn air and the sight of the courtyard. The vulpine zeroed in on his friends almost immediately.

"If you say so, Fox," Wolf replied in slight confusion as Fox made a beeline towards Falco and the others. He'd explain that he and Wolf were not in fact dating, or had plans to.

Easy and simple enough.

Falco took note of them and grimaced slightly, although he waved. Fox walked up to them, hoping he was wearing an apologetic expression. Wolf trailed behind a bit closer than the vulpine would've liked, though.

"Hey. I'm gonna apologize to you," Fox started. "Wolf and I aren't actually… you know. We were just pulling a prank on you," he explained. Bill snorted.

"I figured," the dog said. "I knew you were looking for a chance to get at us. Perfect opportunity, you had there. That was pretty good," he continued, cracking a smile.

Slippy chuckled. "Whew. I'm glad I don't have to keep worrying about that. What a relief. That was an excellent prank, though. I wish I could think up something that devious."

Fox and Wolf looked over to Falco, who kept a blank expression, as if he was thinking on something. A moment later, the avian closed his eyes and smirked, raising his hands in defeat.

"Alright, you got me," he admitted. "I thought you two were boning, but I was wrong. Alright." Fox's ears heated at that statement.

Wolf crossed his arms. "I'm sure you would all like a proper introduction though, right? Name's Wolf. Wolf O'Donnell. I'm Fox's dorm mate," the lupine greeted, extending a hand out to Bill. He shook it immediately, followed by Slippy.

"Good to meet you, dude. Name's Bill," the dog introduced, flashing his signature cool smile. Fox rolled his eyes.

"I'm Slippy. Hey there," the toad said. Wolf nodded, smiling, and looked over to Falco. He extended his hand, waiting for something. Fox had to admit that everything was going pretty well so far. Falco was always a dick to people he didn't know, though.

Falco rolled his eyes, clenching Wolf's hand for a second before pulling back away. "Yo. Name's Falco. Good to meet ya, I suppose," he muttered, looking away. Wolf's ears drooped I'm disappointment.

Fox nudged the lupine, looking at him. "Hey. That's the best possible reaction you'll get from Falco at introductions. Be happy," the vulpine said reassuringly. Wolf nodded slightly, seeming to cheer up a small bit. He seemed to be trying to avoid Fox's gaze. That was more than a little odd.

"Huh. Is the worst case scenario attempted assault?" He asked, grinning. Fox laughed at that.

"You're pretty close with that assumption, honestly. Let's just hope it doesn't ever boil down to that," Falco answered, a hint of amusement present in his voice. Fox knew it would work out.

"Hey, Falco. Who's your dorm mate?" The vulpine asked.

"I didn't get one," Falco stated flatly. Fox blinked. No dorm mate? How was that even possible?

"How's that even possible?" The vulpine asked, echoing his thoughts. Falco shrugged.

"Apparently, I'm 'ill-tempered and uncooperative' and don't need one, as I'd most likely cause 'severe problems' to my peers," the avian explained, snorting.

"Sounds like you, dude," Bill stated smugly, grinning. Falco rolled his eyes in annoyance, flicking the dog's ear.

"Alright then… Who'd you get, Bill and Slippy?" Fox questioned. He should've asked this stuff earlier, but he didn't think about doing so until now.

Slippy was first. "I didn't get anyone, either. I think the staff knew how bad I am with people. Besides, the sheer amount of experimentation I do would be enough to scare anybody off," he explained. Fox nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, that's about what I figured. Bill?" The vulpine asked, looking at the hound. He crossed his arms.

"Guy by the name of Panther Caroso. Ladies' man, big time. He has a thing for romance, but he's an alright dude. I think you all would get along with him," Bill explained.

"Where is this Panther guy, then?" Wolf asked, his ears perking. Fox was genuinely curious about this new person, as well.

Bill shrugged. "Said he was gonna go back to our dorm room. Didn't ask why. Besides, you'll meet him next period. You two have individual flight simulators, right?" Wolf looked at Fox for confirmation, who nodded. Falco smiled at that.

"That means we all do, excluding Slippy!" He exclaimed.

"Awesome. Do you guys have team simulators after that?" The vulpine questioned. Both Falco and Bill nodded in response. Wolf grinned down at Fox, making his chest twist up. He looked away. Bill seemed to take notice of this, looking at the vulpine questioningly.

"Dude, can I talk to ya for a moment? In private?" The hound asked. Fox nodded, a little confused.

"You'll be back in a minute, right?" Wolf asked, sounding slightly upset. Fox eyed him confusedly.

"Course. Don't worry about it," he replied reassuringly. Bill started walking off to another section in the courtyard, with Fox following him. He led the vulpine to a bench that was put of earshot from everyone else. The dog sat down, motioning for Fox to do the same. He took a seat.

"What's with you and that Wolf dude?" Bill asked, looking over at the vulpine. Fox raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean? We're friends. Why?" The vulpine questioned, wondering what Bill's intentions were.

"I was just curious. I mean, the way you look at him… I don't know. Dude… I'm not sure about you," the hound replied, shaking his head.

Fox was genuinely confused. "I don't look at him like anything. He's just… there. Wolf is my friend."

Bill scoffed, smirking. "Little quick to think he's your friend, huh, dude? It's been a day. A day," he remarked. Fox scowled.

"Whatever. You're just being stupid," he muttered. Bill chuckled.

"All I'm saying is to watch out. You never know what could happen," the dog replied, winking and standing up. Fox was even more confused than before.

The vulpine stood up, walking after him back to the group. When they arrived, Fox saw Wolf shifting his feet nervously, standing a little ways away from everybody else. His demeanor brightened significantly at noticing Fox's return.

"What'd you two talk about?" The lupine asked. Fox shrugged.

"He asked why we were friends, I guess. He was being strange, talking about the way I look at you. What a strange thing to ask," the vulpine remarked, staring up at Wolf. Those piercing amethyst eyes narrowed down at him in thought.

"Yeah. Strange thing to ask you," he muttered, lost in thought. Fox scratched at his ear absently.

He wished somebody would give him answers.