Corey sat on Jack's bed, listening intently to the song as it and, by extension, the record ended. Once it did, the buck turned to him. "Well, what did you think?"

The raccoon smiled. "That was pretty good. I'm not sure if it's entirely my thing, but I thought that it was OK."

Jack grinned back at him. "That's fair. Furston Kelly might not be for everyone, but I think if more country sounded like him, more mammals wouldn't have such a bad opinion on it." Corey shrugged, and Jack got up to retrieve the record. Putting it back in its sleeve and putting it away, he turned to his friend. "OK, your turn."

Corey smiled as he reached into his bag, which was filled with his collection of records. After some deliberation, he finally pulled one out. "Let's do this one."

Jack took it and read the cover. "Good Mourning by A Feline Trio." He chuckled. "Still haven't heard it yet."

"Really?" Corey exclaimed, throwing his paws up in disbelief. "Come on, dude!"

"I'm just a mammal!" Jack joked.

The boar laughed. "I think you'll like them. They're like a moodier and darker mink-182, which is funny, seeing as how their vocalist was in mink for a while."

"Wait, really?" Jack asked as he put the record on.

"Yeah," Corey confirmed. "The two records they did with him are OK, but I like the stuff he did with Trio a lot more. This is probably my favorite record from them."

"Oh, yeah?"

The raccoon nodded. "Any record that ends with a song like 'Blue in the Face' is going to rank pretty high up there for me."

Jack smiled as he started the record. Almost immediately, a guitar riff started with the band joining soon after. Then the vocals came in, and the buck noticed Corey singing along:

(Alkaline Trio – This Could Be Love [ watch?v=fy_eL0VYqRg])

I've got a book of matches

I've got a can of kerosene

I've got some bad ideas

Involving you and me

I don't blame you for walking away

I touched myself at thoughts of flames

I shat the bed, I laid there in it

Thinking of you, wide awake for days

Jack couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "He's got a way with words."

Corey shrugged, giving a small smile. "Just wait until the chorus." The two continued listening, and after the second verse, the chorus came on:

Step one, slit my throat

Step two, play in my blood

Step three, cover me in dirty sheets

And run laughing out of the house

Step four, stop off at Edgebrook Creek

And rinse your crimson paws

You took me hostage and made your demands

I couldn't meet them, so you cut off my fingers, one by one

The buck's eyes widened at the lyrical matter. He turned to the raccoon next to him and asked, "Where the fuck did THAT come from?"

Corey started laughing at the striped bunny's expression. "Told you they were dark. Don't worry, not all the songs are like that."

"If you say so," Jack said, shaking his head.

A beat of silence followed as the two of them continued listening. Eventually, Corey asked, "Any idea when your friends will be here?"

Jack shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe a couple hours? Josie should be here pretty soon, though."

"And Judy?"

"Still out with my aunt; we have plenty of time."

"Good." Corey fell silent before quietly asking, "Are you upset that I didn't tell them last Saturday?"

The buck looked over, confused. "What, that you're gay?" The boar nodded and Jack shook his head. "Why would I? It's not my place to be upset about something like that."

Corey sighed. "I know, it's just that…you're my friend, and I told you, and they're my friends, too, so…"

"If you're not ready to tell them, then don't," Jack said. "It's really that simple."

"…Is it?"

The striped bunny stopped and thought about it. "I think so?" The raccoon snorted. "Hey, at the very least, they know that you value your friendship with them."

Corey groaned as he ran his paws down his face. "Ugh, that was so awkward."

"Only because you made it awkward."

Corey flipped him off, though his smile showed that he wasn't really upset. The next song began, and he started singing along again. Jack shrugged his shoulders and continued listening, thinking about the previous week.

It had been one week since the incident at the school involving Chuck, and his friend seemed to be in much better spirits. More importantly, however, it had also been one week since Corey came out to him. Just from looking at him, it seemed like a weight had been lifted off from the raccoon's shoulders, and over the course of the following week, he was smiling and joking with them more than before.

The buck was happy for him. Even though it had only been three weeks now, Jack felt comfortable calling Corey one of his best friends. It may have started off a little rough, but after the two found things they had in common, it just went from there. Jack really enjoyed hanging out with the raccoon, even if it was just something as simple as listening to records like they were now.

Though, at this point, the striped bunny stopped paying attention to the music and was now focused on Corey, who was still singing along with the record. He didn't know when it happened, but at some point, he found himself getting lost in the boar's amber eyes. That, and his smile, and the way he laughed…

Frith, Corey could be adorable when he wanted to-

Jack blinked and quickly shook his head. 'Woah, woah, WOAH, where the hell did THAT come from?!'

Corey noticed the movement and paused in his singing. "Hey, you good?"

"Yeah!" the buck answered a little too quickly. "Um, yeah, I'm good." The raccoon looked like he wanted to say something when someone knocked on Jack's door.

'Oh, thank Frith!' "It's open!" Jack called out.

The door opened, and Cotton poked her head in. "Hey, Josie's here."

The buck smiled. "Cool! Can you send her down?"

"That's just it, uh," the cream-colored bunny started, "she said she needs your help."

Jack and Corey looked at each other, confused. The raccoon then looked back at the younger bunny. "What do you mean?"

Cotton grimaced. "You'll see."

Jack sighed and nodded. "OK, we'll be right up." Cotton nodded and headed back down the hall. The buck got up and paused the record, and a short while later, he and Corey left his room and headed up to the living room. Once they got there, they immediately saw the brown doe sitting on the couch with…

The striped bunny's eyes widened. "Holy Frith, what happened?!" he exclaimed, gesturing to her wrapped foot and crutches.

Josie cringed. "I did something REALLY stupid…"

"…Yeah, we're going to need more than that," Corey said, just as shocked.

The doe shook her head, looking around the living room. "It's embarrassing."

Jack quickly picked up on her mood and nodded. "OK, let's help you downstairs." Josie nodded, and with both boys on either side of her, the three of them slowly but surely made it downstairs and back to Jack's room. After helping her onto the bed, Josie sighed and set her crutches aside.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"No worries." Jack took a breath as he took in the doe's appearance. "Jo, what the hell happened?"

Josie was quiet for a beat before saying, "You know the tree by my house?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, turns out that some of those branches are dead."

"You fell out of a tree?!" Josie winced at Corey's exclamation. "Why were you climbing a tree?!"

"To show my siblings that it was OK to climb it," she defended. The doe huffed as she gestured to her foot. "Look at how well THAT turned out."

"How long until you won't need crutches?" Jack asked.

Josie scoffed. "Hell if I know. Maybe a month?"

"Well," Corey began as he sat down next to her, "here's hoping that it'll heal soon."

Jack nodded as Josie smiled. "Thanks," she said. She then straightened herself out. "So, what are we doing?"

"We're listening to records until Nick and Skye get here," Jack said, grinning. "Then, we'll start setting up for Jude's party."

The doe smiled. "Sweet! Any idea when they'll be here?"

"Maybe in a few hours?" Jack shrugged. He then noticed Corey's anxious expression and nudged him. "Don't be nervous, dude; they'll like you."

The raccoon shook his head. "Can you blame me? These are your friends. I don't want to give a bad first impression."

Josie snorted. "Trust me, dude, it can't be any worse than the first time I met them."

Corey's ears perked up. "Really?"

Jack groaned as the doe explained, "When I first met them, the first thing Nick said was, 'So, YOU'RE the girl Jack won't shut up about.' He totally thought that we were dating."

The raccoon burst out laughing and pointed to the now embarrassed striped bunny. "See? I'm not the only one who thought that."

Jack, whose ears were burning up now, then said, "Never said you weren't, so back to the record?" That brought a laugh from the doe and boar, which the buck took as a 'Yes.' The three kits finished the A Feline Trio record and listened to a few more for a while. Eventually, as they were halfway through Nothing's Shocking by Mane's Addiction, Jack heard Josie speak up.

"Hey, can one of you guys help me up? I need to go to the bathroom."

The buck nodded. "Sure." He got up and helped Josie to her feet, grabbing her crutches. "You remember where the bathrooms are?" She nodded and left the room. Jack turned to the raccoon. "While I'm up, might as well clear a space in the game room for the party."

"You need my help with anything?" Corey asked.

Jack shook his head. "Nah, it shouldn't take too long. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, the buck also left the room, leaving the raccoon alone. Corey shrugged and let out a breath, leaning back on Jack's bed, feeling comfortable as the rest of the album played out.

'Y'know,' he thought, 'I can see this one growing on me.'

Suddenly, he heard a text alert go off next to him. He turned to see Jack's phone screen light up with a message. Corey ignored it, seeing as the buck might not appreciate it if he went through his messages. A few minutes passed, and neither Jack nor Josie had returned yet. He wondered if he should get up and check on them when he heard footsteps approaching the door.

'Ah, there they-'

His thought stopped abruptly when the door opened and two foxes walked in: a red one and a white one. The red one was speaking:

"How's it going, duuuuyou are not Jack."

Corey quickly shook his head, concerned. "Who are you?"

"Hey, we asked first," the red fox said.

"Technically," the white one started, "you didn't ask him anything."

"The question was implied."

"Then make it clearer next time!"

Corey looked back and forth between the two as they talked. 'Who the fuck…'

Suddenly, the raccoon heard Josie from behind the two foxes. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure I know those voices, and if it's who I think it is…"

Both foxes smiled and turned around to see the brown bunny.

"Josie- Oh my Dog, what happened?!"

Josie chuckled weakly at the vixen's question. "It's a long story…"

"…The tree by your house?" the todd asked.

"…Yeah…"

"Told you it wasn't safe to climb."

"Shut up, Nick."

Corey's ears perked up. 'Nick?' Then he realized something. 'Wait a minute…'

As the two foxes talked with Josie, he reached over to grab Jack's phone. Turning it on, he saw a message from 'Slick Nick':

['Wassup, dude? We're here. Cotton's sending us down to your room.']

Corey's eyes widened. He looked back up to the two vulpines.

"YOU'RE Nick and Skye?"

Both foxes turned around and faced him. The todd, Nick, nodded. "Yeah. And you are?"

"Oh, that's-" Josie started.

"Corey!"

Everyone jumped at Skye's exclamation. Nick turned and glared at her, covering his ear. "Fucking hell, Skye. Did you have to yell in my ear?"

"You'll be fine," the vixen dismissed as she sat down next to the raccoon. "You're Corey, right?" At his nod, Skye's smile grew bigger as she held out her paw. "It's so nice to finally meet you!"

Corey shook paws. "'Finally'?"

"Oh, yeah," Nick chuckled as he sat down on the other side of him. "Jack talks about you all the time. It's always 'Corey this' or 'Corey that'." He smiled mischievously. "Was starting to think we were being replaced."

"Imagine how I felt," Josie joked, taking Jack's chair.

"…Sorry?" Corey apologized.

"Joking, dude," Skye reassured. "It's always great to meet another one of Jack's friends."

Before anyone else could say anything, the buck in question returned, saying, "Got a space cleared in the game room; we'll start setting up…"

He trailed off when he noticed Nick and Skye in the room. After a beat of silence, he grinned. "When the fuck did you two get here?"

"A few minutes ago," Nick answered, smiling as he and Skye got up to hug him. A few seconds later, they broke it off as the todd asked, "Got everything we need to set up?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Judy and Aunt Bonnie won't be back for quite some time; plenty of time for us to set everything up." Because Judy's thirteenth birthday had fallen on a weekday, Nick and Skye hadn't been able to come up to celebrate with them. Though she had celebrated with her littermates and family, everyone could tell that she missed her friends. This led to them planning a secret party for the following weekend. Bonnie, Stu, and Mrs. Wilde were all in on it, with the plan being that the two elder bunnies would keep Judy busy throughout the day while the elder fox and kits helped set up for the party.

Nick smiled before it fell slightly. "Was she upset when we didn't talk to her on her birthday?" he asked quietly.

The buck's ears fell back as he nodded his head. "Yeah. She tried to hide it, but everyone could tell that she was disappointed."

"Well," Skye said with a sigh, "here's hoping she doesn't kill us."

"Hey, once she sees the bitchin' party we're throwing for her, she'll forgive you," Josie said confidently. She then grabbed her crutches and slowly stood. "So, shall we get started?"

Everyone nodded. "We'll go grab Mom and meet you in the game room," Nick said, walking towards the door with Skye.

"I'll start setting up what I can," Josie offered.

"Sounds good. Let me clean up in here first, then I'll meet you guys there," Jack said, reaching down to pick up the stack of records.

Corey got up from the bed. "I'll help you." He then turned to Nick and Skye. "It's nice to meet you guys."

Nick smiled. "You too, mam." With that, he, Skye, and Josie left the room as Jack and Corey began cleaning up the records.

"You didn't tell me they were foxes."

Jack looked up, confused. "What?"

The raccoon shrugged. "Nick and Skye. You never told me that they were foxes."

"Really?" Corey shook his head, and Jack felt worry build up in his chest. "That's not an issue, is it?"

Corey's eyes got big as he rapidly shook his head. "Nonononono, I didn't mean for it to sound like that," he quickly explained. "I just wasn't expecting a family of bunnies to be friends with a family of foxes. For what it's worth, they seem like good mammals."

Jack felt himself calm down. "Yeah, they're the best mammals I know. They're practically family."

Corey nodded his head before asking, "So, are they really brother and sister?" At the buck's nod, the boar looked confused. "But they don't have the same fur color…"

Jack shook his head. "It's…really not my place to say, but trust me, they really are siblings."

Corey looked like he wanted to ask more, but he instead said, "OK." He then started chuckling a little.

"What?"

The raccoon smirked. "So, you don't shut up about me, huh?"

Jack looked at him confused before running his paws down his face.

"Oh, for FUCK'S SAKE, NICK!"

Jack was helping Nick and Mrs. Wilde hang up the remaining party banners when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a text from Bonnie:

['Just pulled into the driveway. You guys ready?']

The striped bunny's eyes widened. 'They're here?! Already?!'

He took a quick look around the room. While most things were set up, they still hadn't gotten to everything yet. Jack quickly looked at Nick, who was standing on Mrs. Wilde's shoulders hanging up the banner. "Hey, out of curiosity, how much longer will this take?"

The todd shrugged. "Maybe five more minutes. Why?"

"They're here."

"WHAT?!" came everyone's exclamation as they all faced the bunny.

"They're back?!" Josie cried.

Jack nodded. "Just got a text from my aunt; they're pulling up now."

"Jack, keep her busy," Skye urged, quickly grabbing more supplies. "We'll finish up in here. Do NOT let her down here yet."

"Got it. Text me when you're done!" With that, the buck turned and quickly exited the room, texting Bonnie what was happening. Her response was simple:

['How long do you guys need?']

Jack didn't bother answering it and instead increased his pace upstairs to the living room. There, after quickly looking around, he saw his aunt and cousin making their way to the kitchen, groceries in paw. He swiftly walked over to them.

"Hey, guys!" the buck greeted. "Do you need any help putting things away?"

The two does turned around to see him. Bonnie, picking up what the buck meant by that question, smiled and gave her bags to Jack telling him, "Sure! Go help Jude put the frozen stuff away."

"Which freezer?" he asked.

"Oh, those can go in twenty-one; we'll use them later this week."

Jack nodded, and he and Judy made their way to the back of the kitchen and to the freezers. Despite not being as large as some of the other families in Bunnyburrow, the Hopps family still had quite a few mammals living under one roof. Therefore, it meant that a lot of everything was needed to help sustain the family. As a result, the home contained multiple refrigerators and freezers to keep everything.

The two younger bunnies reached the freezers and started looking for twenty-one. As they were looking, Jack noticed the downcast look on Judy's face.

"Is everything OK?" he asked, despite knowing how she was really feeling. Knowing her, though, she would try to put on a brave face and say everything was fine. Sure enough, she nodded and put on a fake smile.

"Yeah, I'm good," the doe said, still looking for the freezer. Finally, they reached it. "Ah, here it is!"

Jack stood next to her as she started putting the frozen goods away. He couldn't see much of her face, but he didn't need to; he knew what she was feeling.

She was still hurt that Nick and Skye didn't talk to her on her birthday. They didn't even send a text. Of course, it was because they and Jack were planning to surprise her with a party that weekend, but that wasn't something that they could tell her.

Naturally, the doe tried to play it off, saying that the foxes probably had things going on that day, but it was clear that she didn't believe it. A few days had passed, and with those days, so did Judy's optimism that the two foxes would call her.

Jack sighed as he put the bag down. "Judy, it's just me."

The doe stopped for a few seconds before she closed her eyes and took a quivering breath.

"I can't believe they forgot…"

"Judy-"

"They forgot," Judy reiterated, tears starting to form. "How did they forget…"

Jack pulled his cousin in for a hug as she tried to stay composed. Eventually, Judy broke it off and turned away from the buck, sniffling. Just as he was about to say something, though, Jack felt his phone vibrate again. He pulled it out to see a text:

['Send her down.']

The striped bunny hid back his smile and asked, "Hey, why don't we finish putting things away here, head down to the game room, and blow off some steam for a bit?"

Judy gave a small nod. "Sure."

The two of them finished putting the frozen items away and left the kitchen. Before exiting, however, Jack glanced over to Bonnie and gave a small nod. The Hopps matriarch winked with a small smile.

'PLEASE tell me she got the cake Nick told her to get,' he thought to himself.

Jack and Judy walked down the stairs, passing some of the doe's siblings along the way. They said hi, but mostly ignored the both of them, Judy clearly not in a good mood. A few minutes later, the two of them found themselves in front of the game room door. After taking a few seconds to open, the kits entered the room, though to Judy's surprise, Jack didn't immediately turn on the light. She turned around to see him pushing the door closed.

"Jack, why-"

*FLICK*

Light instantly filled the room, temporarily blinding the gray doe. Then she turned around and…

"SURPRISE!"

Judy's eyes widened in shock as she saw Nick, Skye, Josie, Corey, and Mrs. Wilde in the room, standing next to a table filled with chips, juice, and other snacks. She looked around the room and saw the birthday decorations hanging on the walls.

"Well?" The doe turned to her cousin, who gave a small shrug. "What do you think?"

"Wha- wait, hold on- what?" Judy stuttered as she looked back at the party in front of her.

Nick stepped forward, paws in his pockets. "Sorry for going radio silent, Carrots. We didn't want to accidentally spoil the surprise."

The doe remained silent, just staring at the fox. Nick nervously glanced around the room. "Judy? You good- OOF!"

Jack and everyone else let out a little sigh of relief as Judy quickly and fiercely hugged the todd. Then she spoke, sounding like she was tearing up.

"I thought you guys forgot!" she said, her voice muffled in his shirt.

Nick lightly chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. "What, forget lucky number thirteen? Of course not."

The two kits continued to hug each other, with everyone else standing back. Jack looked at Skye, who rolled her eyes and smirked.

'Hopeless,' she mouthed.

Jack held back a snicker just as Nick and Judy ended their hug, only for the doe to slug the fox's arm.

"Ow."

"That's for making me think you forgot my birthday," Judy grumbled, though she was smiling.

"It was Skye's idea!"

Judy slowly looked at the white vixen, who looked away and started shuffling her feet nervously. "Oh, really?" the doe asked. She then shrugged. "OK, then."

Nick threw his paws up in the air, exasperated. He turned to Corey and jokingly said, "See what I have to put up with?" That brought a much-needed laugh from everyone.

Mrs. Wilde then stepped forward and gave Judy a hug. "Happy birthday, sweetie."

The doe returned the hug and went to Skye. "Don't think you're off the hook for this," she said before embracing the vixen. "But thank you."

"Totally worth it," Skye said.

After a few moments, Judy turned to Josie and noticed the doe's wrapped foot and crutches. She smiled and slowly shook her head.

"Told you it wasn't a good idea."

"Shut up, birthday girl."

Judy laughed. "Hope it gets better soon."

Josie gave a small smile. "Thanks."

"So, ready to get this party started?" Corey asked, clapping his paws together.

The gray doe nodded her head. "Yeah, let's do it!"

For the next couple of hours, the kits played video games, had drinks and snacks, and just generally had fun and enjoyed each other's company. Eventually, Bonnie and Stu entered the room with a birthday cake. Jack was initially surprised and a little confused when Nick suggested getting her a raspberry cake, seeing as they still had the carrot cake from her littermate's party, but Judy was happy to see it, so he just shrugged it off. They all sang 'Happy Birthday,' and enjoyed the cake.

A few minutes later, Nick, Skye, and Mrs. Wilde gave Judy her gifts. Nick had gifted her a book on the different police policies in the city, Skye had gotten her a cute looking shirt and skirt combo, and Mrs. Wilde gave her some sweets. Judy gave them each a hug, thanking them for the gifts.

The party continued for a few more hours, until finally, it was starting to get late, and the game room needed to be cleaned up. As everyone was tearing down the decorations, Jack and Skye were walking down the hall, carrying trash bags out to the can.

"Hey, thanks for helping set this all up," the vixen said.

Jack smiled. "You're welcome. Judy seemed to really enjoy it."

"Good." The two kits made their way outside to the can and dumped the bags inside. "Any plans for your birthday?" Skye asked.

"Not really, no," the buck answered, shaking his head.

"Your birthday's next month, isn't it?" Jack nodded, and Skye continued. "Well, it's your guys' turn to come out to us; why don't we celebrate in the city?"

"Really?"

The vixen shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

Jack thought about it and smiled. "Sure. As long as it's OK with your mom and my aunt and uncle."

"Why would your aunt and uncle have issues with it?" Skye asked, walking back to the house with the buck.

"Remember New Year's?" Jack asked.

The vixen winced, remembering how the two bunnies misled their parents and showed up for New Year's Eve in the city a few months prior. "Oh shit, that's right. They weren't happy about that, were they?"

"No. They. Weren't," the buck agreed. "I'll still ask them, though."

"OK." They walked for a few minutes before Skye asked, "If you guys can come down, do you want to bring Josie and Corey down with you?"

"Dunno. Jo said her foot won't be good until at least a month, and Corey…" Jack trailed off before saying. "I don't know if he'd be comfortable going to the city. I mean, it took him a while to actually talk to me, so he might not be really open to the idea."

"…It took you three days to get him to open up to you," the vixen deadpanned before gesturing between them. "It took US one day."

The buck considered it before saying, "That's fair. I'll ask both of them, but we'll see." Jack then perked up. "Oh! Speaking of questions, I have one for you."

"OK, shoot."

"How good would you say you've gotten at drums?"

Skye looked at the striped bunny confused. "I'd say I'm decent. Why?"

Jack smiled as he and the vixen walked downstairs. "Would you be open to playing a show with Josie and I, and maybe Judy?"

Skye stopped and stared at the buck. "Wait, really?" At Jack's nod, she gave a massive grin. "Yeah, sure! I'd love to do that!"

The buck fist pumped. "Awesome! We don't know when specifically, or even if Judy wants to do it, but we can send you the songs we want to do."

The vixen chuckled as she wrapped an arm around the buck as they began walking again. "I think we can convince Jude to do it. Last I heard, she's gotten pretty good." She then shot the striped bunny a smirk. "You know, I brought my sticks and a practice pad with me…"

Jack's smile got even bigger. "I'll grab my guitar."

"Get her bass, too. I'll get my sticks."

"Do you think she'll do it?"

"We'll convince her."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"BREAK!"

With that, the kits split up, Skye to get her things and Jack to get his guitar and Judy's bass. After grabbing both, the buck made his way to the game room, opening it up to see Nick, Judy, Josie, and Corey sitting at the couch. As he got closer, he could hear their conversation:

"…and that was when we found out Skye was adopted."

"How did she take it?" Corey asked.

Judy winced before answering, "Not very well at the time, but she's accepted it now."

Nick nodded. "That was…a rough day."

"Yeah," the gray doe agreed. She then noticed Jack holding his guitar and her bass. "Why do you have my bass?" she asked in a slightly heated tone.

Jack smirked as he handed her the bass. "Skye's grabbing her sticks and pad."

Judy's eyes lit up as she grabbed the instrument. "What're we playing?"

"What do you want to play, birthday girl?"

Before the doe could answer, Skye entered the room, holding a pair of drumsticks and a practice pad. She made her way over to them and sat down next to Judy. "So, what song?" the vixen asked.

Judy again remained silent, trying to think of a song to play when Corey spoke:

"Do you guys know any Brayside?"

The three of them smiled at the question, especially Judy. Ever since Skye introduced them to her, they had become one of her favorite bands. Jack looked at Judy and Skye. "Wanna try 'Already Gone'?"

"Sure!"

"Nick has to sing it, though," Josie interjected, smirking.

The todd groaned playfully and said, "Yeah, OK. Start it off."

Skye gave a count of four, and they started playing acoustically. Eventually, Nick came in with the lyrics:

(Bayside – Already Gone [ watch?v=BsikpaIqVms])

You, you never call

You never write me or nothing

I set myself up to fall

I was stupid then to try

And I'm living a lie

I'm in a fantasy world

But the hero won't win this time

'Cause a pipe dream gets flushed away

By all means I'm gettin' mad

But that don't mean I don't feel sorry for ya

Then the chorus kicked in, and everyone joined in:

How sad you're gonna be

I wish I could stick around

To see your face when you realize you've permanently changed

And it's all thanks to me

I was wrong for coming here

You'll wake alone and run around your lonely home

Look for my face but I'm already gone

They continued on with the rest of the song (though there was some laughter when Jack butchered the solo), and once they ended, they received some applause from Josie and Corey.

"That was great!" the raccoon exclaimed. For some reason, Jack felt his cheeks warming up at the compliment.

"Yeah!" Josie agreed. "I knew I should've brought my violin today."

That brought some chuckles as Skye said, "Well, there's always next time."

"Yeah, that was fun," Judy added, smiling. "Guys, thanks for everything today."

"No problem, Carrots," Nick said. "You're worth it."

Corey looked confused. "'Carrots'?"

"Don't ask," the gray doe quickly said.

Skye chuckled. "So, now what?"

"Do you guys know any songs by A Feline Trio?" Corey asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Damn, it would be sweet if you did."

'Hmm…' An idea popped into Jack's head just as Judy suggested another song.

The kits continued to play a few more songs, though Jack didn't give his full attention to them. Instead, he found himself more focused on the raccoon sitting across from him, listening and singing along with every song they played. The look in his eyes, his soft smile, his contagious laugh…

'Frith, he's so cute right now-'

Jack's eyes widened at that intrusive thought as he hit a wrong note. He quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed, relieved that none of them had. The buck tore his gaze away from the raccoon, now lost in his own thoughts:

'OK, what the hell is happening?!'

Then the rational side of his brain answered:

'You know exactly what's happening…'

…

'…Oh…'

Once the song was finished, Jack quickly got up and excused himself from the room, saying he needed to go to the bathroom. Once he left, however, he made a beeline straight to his bedroom, locking the door behind.

Jack ran his paws down his face, taking a deep breath. He wanted to try and deny it to himself, but he simply couldn't now.

One time? A fluke.

Two times? A coincidence.

But THREE times? It was obvious what was happening:

He had a crush on his best friend.

He had a crush…on Corey.

"…Shit."