Lionblaze has a Shadow

Part 10 : The Difference

"This is unacceptable," Jayfeather snapped. Hollyleaf had raided his wallet again, leaving nothing but pennies and one measly nickel. Lionblaze sat beside him, and nodded his agreement.

This was his first day back at home, Hollyleaf and Jayfeather had finally saved enough money to pay his bail. He was insanely happy to be out of his cell, and he had a good reason for it too. They were going to pair him up in Clawfaces, and Lionblaze had send a letter of desperation to Jayfeather saying he was going to be sharing a room with a registered sex offender. Anyways, paying all that money had left them broke, and today was the day they were selling their apartment.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me and Hollyleaf?" Lionblaze asked. Jayfeather folded another shirt and put it in his suitcase.

"It's fine. I already told Cloudtail I was going to stay with him," he mumbled, hastily folding more of his clothes so he wouldn't have to look up at his brother.

"Are you guys gonna do the dirty?"

"Lionblaze!" Jayfeathers face turned so red it looked nearly purple. "Don't talk like that."

"Why not? Your probably thinking it anyway," Lionblaze teased.

"I am not."

"Oh really? So what if Cloudtail made a move? What would happen then?"

Jayfeather stopped folding. "I don't know," he said. "I seriously don't."

"Well you better get it together. If your gonna be living with him you have to consider all the perks."

"Jeez Lionblaze, why do you talk like this," Jayfeather sighed.

"Because you freak out so easily. Are you guys going to share a bed and all that?" Lionblaze continued.

"Well... well... I don't know!" Jayfeather cried, throwing his half folded clothes into the suitcase. "Maybe it would be more appropriate if I slept on the couch."

"Oh yeah. Cloudtail will get the idea that you think he's contagious."

"He will not! He understands how I feel."

"Maybe you should start feeling the need to lose your awkwardness over every little thing," Lionblaze stood up and started walking towards the door. "I'm serious, Jayfeather. Awkwardness is so not attractive," then he left, leaving Jayfeather with the thoughts Lionblaze had forced him to think about. Jayfeather realized he was embarrassed just thinking about it.

How am I going to be able to do anything if I can't even handle the thought of it?

Jayfeather was surprised at what a nice house Cloudtail had. It was beautiful, white bricks and his lawn was so green it looked nearly unnatural. He lived by himself, yet he had four bedrooms. There was a flat screen TV in the living room, and the comfiest couches Jayfeather had ever sat on in his entire life. The bathtub was made of marble, and there was a hot tub outside under the deck.

"It's not that special," Cloudtail scoffed when Jayfeather commented on how nice the house was. "It's quite boring, actually. I get lonely a lot."

"Well you have me now," Jayfeather said. "You don't have to be lonely anymore."

Cloudtail smiled happily. "Yeah. How long are you planning on staying?"

"How long am I allowed?" Jayfeather asked. Cloudtail pretended to think about it.

"Um, as long as you like? Until you get bored of me," he said, and helped grab Jayfeathers bags and carry them into the house. They walked down the hall, and Cloudtail opened one of the many doors lined against the wall. It was a pleasant looking room with a king sized bed and a TV bigger then the one in the living room.

"This will be your room," Cloudtail said. Jayfeather nodded, half relieved and half disappointed they wouldn't be sharing a room together. Cloudtail must have noticed Jayfeathers disappointment, and his face fell.

"You don't like it?" he asked.

"No, it's great. Thank you," Jayfeather forced himself to smile. "I'm going to get things set up now."

Cloudtail looked at him for a second longer. "Okay. I'll see you in a bit," and then he walked out. Jayfeather sat down at the end of the massive bed and didn't understand why he felt so alone. He was with Cloudtail, wasn't he? If anything, he should feel overwhelmed at how this had all turned out so well for him.

So why do I feel so empty?

Hollyleaf threw all her bags on the floor of her temporary home with Hawkfrost and Mothwing. The floorboards creaked under the weight of the suitcases. Hollyleaf looked around the room and tried to ignore the peeling wallpaper and the burnt out lightbulb. Lionblaze walked in shortly after, and Hollyleaf could tell he was trying to ignore the rooms features too.

"Well, it's nice the room is insured," he said at last. "At least we won't have to worry about anyone breaking in."

"As if anyone would want to," Hollyleaf muttered. She sat down on the bed and it nearly snapped in half.

"It may be a bit ... rusty," Hollyleaf said as Lionblaze tried to flip the light on and succeeded in breaking the switch off.

"We should have gone with Jayfeather," Lionblaze said. "He's probably got it made over at Cloudtails."

Hollyleaf snorted. "I bet he does." she sat up off the bed and it made a painful groaning noise.

"The bed has obviously been here for a while. I guess I'll always know if you have a girl over."

Lionblaze scowled. "Don't be silly. I haven't had a girlfriend since the Heatherpaw incident."

"So go find someone."

"It's not that simple! It's easy for you because your pretty and you're a girl."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hollyleaf scowled. "No one but Ravenpaw has actually shown any interest in a relationship, like ever."

Lionblaze smiled. "So I guess you and me aren't that different after all."

Jayfeather self consciously flattened his hair while Cloudtail flipped through the channels on the TV. The day had gone well, relatively. They had talked normally, just like Jayfeather would with his friends. And that was the problem. Jayfeather didn't know if that's what Cloudtail wanted or not, friends or more? It was all so confusing and Jayfeather found his mind spinning with confusion more then usual.

"What do you want to watch?" Cloudtail suddenly asked, breaking Jayfeathers train of thought.

"There's nothing on."

"It doesn't matter to me," Jayfeather said.

"Can I at least get an opinion?" Cloudtail grinned, and Jayfeather turned red.

"Why are you getting embarrassed?" Cloudtail asked. "I'm asking you to pick a TV show, not take your clothes off."

Jayfeathers face turned into a more intense shade of red. "Put on Misery," he mumbled. Misery was an old movie about a crazed woman who keeps her favorite author hostage in her house.

"See? Was that so difficult?"

"Yes."

"Take off your clothes."

"What?"

"Just kidding."