The sound of plucked guitar strings could be heard from Jack's room, though they didn't resemble any coherent song, instead sounding like a random collection of notes. The buck was lying on his bed, guitar in paw, lost in his thoughts as he played idly.

Well, OK, ONE thought was running through his head. It was the same one thought that he's had for the past few days:

'Coward.'

Jack winced as he shook his head. No, no, he wasn't being a coward; he was just apprehensive to-

'Coward.'

…Maybe he could send a text-

'COWARD.'

A short knock snapped him out of his thoughts, and Jack looked at the door.

"Yeah?"

A voice from the other side answered. "It's Judy; can I come in?"

The buck wanted to say 'No,' as he had an idea as to why she was there, but he also knew that she wouldn't leave him alone until they talked.

She was very persistent like that.

Jack sighed quietly. "Yeah, sure."

The door opened and Judy walked in, closing it behind her. The two bunnies stayed silent as the doe stood in the middle of the room. Eventually, Jack spoke.

"So, what can I do for you?" he asked.

Judy shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "Nothing, I just wanted to see what you were doing."

The buck raised up his acoustic. "Just messing around on my guitar."

"OK. Cool."

Judy fell silent again, rocking back and forth on her feet. Jack sighed.

"Look, just ask what you want to ask already, OK?"

"What's going on between you and Corey?" she immediately inquired.

The striped bunny groaned as he looked down at his guitar. "There's nothing going on between-"

"The hell there isn't," the doe interrupted. "Last Saturday, you guys were joking around and talking about music for hours; this week, I've barely seen you talk with him for five minutes. What happened?"

Jack stopped as he considered his cousin's question. Of course she had noticed that he was keeping his distance from the raccoon. He wasn't going to just tell her WHY he was doing that, though.

'I mean, how DO you tell your cousin that you found out you have a crush on one of your best friends?' he thought. 'How the hell do you tell said best friend that you have a crush on HIM?'

The buck shook his head. "Nothing happened. It's just…" he trailed off before sighing. "It's just something stupid, that's all."

"Oh, yeah?" Judy asked, not looking convinced. "What is it?"

"Something. STUPID."

The doe huffed. "Well, whatever this 'stupid' thing is, you'd better figure it out soon, because you've been acting off all week. And I'm not the only one who's noticed that, because Corey's been asking if everything's alright."

Jack's head whipped up at that. "Is he really?"

The doe gave him a look that said, 'Really, dumbass?'

"Jack, do you really think that Corey wouldn't have noticed that his BEST FRIEND stopped talking with him this week?"

Jack felt panic build up in his chest as he quickly sat up and placed his guitar aside. "He doesn't think that HE did something wrong, does he?"

"Well, HAS he?" Judy shot back.

"No!"

"Then maybe you should tell him that, you moron!"

The buck sat there, stunned into silence. Judy saw his expression and calmed down a little. "Jack, you NEED to talk to him. At the very least tell him that everything's OK between you two."

Jack nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah, I-I'll definitely do that. I'll talk with him tomorrow."

"He won't be here." The buck looked at Judy, confused. "He's going with his grandparents to see his folks, remember?" At Jack's silence and embarrassed look, she groaned. "Guess not."

"OK, well, when SHOULD I talk to him?"

"How about this Friday?" the doe suggested. "Don't forget, he and Josie are coming over for season three."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Jack remembered. "We forgot to watch it last week."

Judy nodded before asking, "Will you be good to talk to him by then?"

The buck quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'll be good. I just…need to think of what the hell to say."

"…Just be honest with him," his cousin said quietly. "Let him know that you didn't mean to hurt him." Jack looked away, then slowly nodded. "Well, I've said my piece; just know that Josie's got a little speech prepared for you, too, so be ready for that tomorrow."

"Gotcha."

The doe nodded and turned to leave. Before she left, though, she said, "Corey thinks highly of you, you know."

"He does?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Judy confirmed. "He said that you're his first real friend in a long time." The buck was silent at her words. The doe shrugged. "Just thought you should know." With that, Judy turned and left Jack's room.

The striped bunny slowly leaned back on his bed and stared at his ceiling. He knew that Corey considered him a friend, but to that level? It honestly made him feel even worse. Jack sighed as he ran his paws down his face.

'Be honest with him? OK.'

This Friday, he wasn't just going to apologize to Corey, but he was actually going to do it:

He was going to tell the raccoon about his feelings towards him.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON…

Jack paced back and forth in the living room, waiting for Josie and Corey to show up. Just like Judy warned him, Josie lectured him on the way he had been acting that past week, and they both agreed that the buck needed to talk to Corey. Jack spent the previous day trying to think of what he was going to say to the raccoon, but he just simply couldn't find the right words. After much consideration, he decided that he was just going to wing it.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The striped bunny's ears perked up and he looked at the front door. 'That has to be him,' he thought, taking a deep breath. 'OK, here goes nothing.' Jack walked to the front door and opened it, words ready…only to see that it was instead Josie.

"Oh, hey, Jo."

The brown doe snorted. "Don't sound too disappointed, Jack."

Jack's eyes widened. "Oh, shit, I didn't mean-"

Josie started laughing. "It's OK, dude, I'm just busting your balls." The buck relaxed, though he shot a slightly annoyed look at her. "Is Corey here yet?"

"No," Jack answered, shaking his head. He stepped aside so the doe could come in. "I was kinda hoping you were him."

"Hence the earlier disappointment."

"Josie-"

The brown doe giggled as she and Jack made their way to the stairs, with the buck helping her down them. They walked to Jack's room, though at a slower pace due to Josie's crutches, and they entered to find Judy already in there, sitting on his bed, with his laptop open on his desk, ready to start.

"Hey, girl," Judy greeted, getting up to hug the brown doe. She looked at Jack. "I take it Corey's not here yet?" The buck shook his head. "Well, don't worry, he should be here soon."

No sooner had she said that the door to Jack's room opened. The three bunnies all turned to see a certain raccoon standing there. Jack was the first one to speak.

"…Hey, Corey."

"…Hey."

The kits stood there in silence before Judy suddenly said, "Hey, I need to grab something from my room. Josie, can you help me?"

The brown doe quickly nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

The two does swiftly exited the room, though not before Josie shot Jack a look that said, 'Don't fuck this up.'

'Subtle,' Jack sarcastically thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He looked at his friend and said, "They seemed eager to get out of here."

Corey shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

The two of them stood there silently until Jack asked, "So, how did the visit with your parents go?"

"It went."

Jack winced. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Eh," was all Corey said, shrugging.

"…Can we talk?"

Corey snorted. "I don't know, CAN we?"

The bunny cringed at the statement. "Corey-"

"No no no, you want to talk, so we'll talk," his friend interrupted, crossing his arms. "So, tell me: what is it that you want to talk about?"

"I'm an idiot, OK?"

Corey looked a little surprised at Jack's declaration but didn't say anything. The buck continued. "You're my friend, and I know you haven't had a real one in a while, at least, that's what you said to Judy, and something had come up, which I'm STILL trying to figure out, but I didn't realize that looked like I was trying to avoid you, which TOTALLY isn't the case, I just get stuck in my head-"

"Jack," Corey interjected. "You're rambling."

The buck stopped and chuckled nervously as he sat on his bed. "Sorry. I just want you to know that you didn't do anything wrong. I'm…" he trailed off before gesturing towards himself. "Again, I'm just being an idiot."

"I doubt it," Corey said, sitting down next to him. "Just because you did something dumb, it doesn't make you an idiot."

Jack shrugged. "Maybe." He fell silent for a bit before looking at the raccoon next to him. "Still, I'm sorry for not being a good friend these last few days."

"Hey, you're a GREAT friend, dude," Corey reassured. "It's like you said: you just get stuck in your head sometimes. I was just worried that I did something-"

"You didn't," the striped bunny interrupted. He took a small breath. "I'm sorry the trip to see your parents didn't go well."

Corey sighed as he said, "I mean, it wasn't a TOTAL waste. It was great to see both of them again, and credit where it's due, they tried to stay civil. But…" Corey trailed off as he shook his head. "I just wish they could sort their shit out, y'know?"

"Still, that sucks, dude."

"Eh, it is what it is," he tried to shrug off. The two friends sat there for a beat before Jack then took a deep breath.

"Hey, um, there's something I need to tell you."

Corey looked confused. "OK, what's up?"

'OK, here it is: this is where you tell him.'

"I…" Jack trailed off, trying to find the courage to say that he liked the raccoon. In that moment, however, all courage flew out the window and he instead said, "I was wondering if there were any specific songs by A Feline Trio song you like. Need some ideas for the emo night."

Corey perked up. "Oh! Uh, OK…" He trailed off as he tried to think of an answer. Eventually, he said, "There's quite a lot I like from them, I don't even know where to begin."

"If you had to nail one down, which one would you pick?" Jack asked.

Corey sat there in silence before saying, "Probably 'Blue in the Face' or 'Smokestack'."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," the raccoon affirmed, nodding his head.

"Well, I learned 'Blue in the Face' a few days ago, so we can easily do that one," Jack admitted. "You had mentioned that you liked it last time you were here."

"Wait, really?" Corey perked up. "Can I hear it?"

"Oh! Uh, sure." Jack went and grabbed his guitar before sitting back down next to his friend. "Sorry if I mess this up."

"You're good."

Jack took a breath and started strumming the first few chords of the song. Eventually, he hit the first verse:

(Alkaline Trio – Blue in the Face [ watch?v=tM2SarE8fwo])

It's about time that I came clean with you

No longer fine, I'm no longer running smooth

I thought that I found myself under something new

Just one more line I repeat over and over again

'Till I'm blue in the face with a choking regret

As I talk in circles 'round you on my bed

Can't say I blame you one bit when you kept it all inside

When you left that night

Corey sat there quietly as the buck reached the second verse:

It's about time that you got sick of me

No longer fun, and so far from interesting

I thought that I found me a cure for feeling old

Just one more line to keep me sleeping loudly and cold

In disgrace with a shameful regret

As I talk in tongues to myself in my bed

Can't say I blame you one bit when you kept it all inside

When you left that night

The song continued for a little bit, before the vocals came back in. This time, Jack could faintly hear Corey sing along:

And all that followed fell like mercury to hell

Somehow we lost our heads for the last time

And all that followed fell like mercury to hell

Somehow we lost our heads for the last time

And I don't dream since I quit sleeping

And I haven't slept since I met you

And you can't breathe without coughing at daytime

Neither can I

So what do you say?

Your coffin, or mine?

Jack strummed the last chord, and the two of them stayed silent. After a beat, Corey said, "Sounded good to me, dude.

Jack smiled, hoping to Frith that his friend couldn't see his blush. "Th-thanks." Before he could muster up the courage to tell his friend anything more, the buck heard the door open, and he turned to see Judy and Josie come in.

"Hey, got my water," Judy said, holding up a water bottle. She sat down in between the boys. "Everything good?" she asked, though she was looking at Jack when she said it.

The striped bunny nodded as he set his guitar aside. "Yeah, um, yeah. Everything's good."

"Good," Josie said, sitting down in Jack's chair. "So, can we PLEASE start season three?"

Everyone nodded, and Josie hit 'Play' on the laptop. Jack risked a glance at Corey, who was looking down at his paws. The buck quickly looked away, withholding a groan as the episode started and the voice returned.

'Coward.'

"So, what did you think of the show?" Jack asked Josie as the four of them walked down the hall.

The brown doe gave a massive grin. "It was AMAZING! I loved it so much!"

Judy laughed as Corey said, "So, NOW can we say we told you so?"

Josie smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, fine. Go ahead."

"We told you so!"

That brought a big laugh from everyone. Jack then asked, "So, what do you think was your favorite part of season three?"

"Oh Frith, I don't even know," Josie admitted. "Faang having insomnia and hallucinating, Catara finding the guy who killed her mom, the finale as a whole…it's hard to choose one, y'know?"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement as they approached the stairs. After a few minutes helping Josie up, Judy pulled her phone to check the time when she noticed the day's date. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, it's TODAY?"

Jack, Josie, and Corey turned to her in confusion. "What's today?" the buck asked.

The gray doe looked at him with sad eyes. "Jack, don't you know what day it is?"

"…Friday?"

"It's April 21," Judy told him. Jack's ears fell back against his head.

"…Oh…"

Both Josie and Judy had sympathetic looks on their faces, while Corey instead had an inquisitive one on his. "What's the deal with the twenty-first?"

"…That was the day my mom left," Jack quietly revealed. "Today marks six years." Everyone fell silent before the buck let out a little laugh. "Time really flies, huh?"

"Jack…I-" Josie started.

The striped bunny waved her off with a small smile. "Hey, I'm fine, OK? Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure?" Judy asked.

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding his head. "I'm sure."

Everyone didn't look completely convinced, but they nodded their heads. "OK, if you say so."

The group walked into the living room, where some of Judy's siblings were hanging out. Jack turned to his cousin and friends and said, "Hey, I'm going to get something to drink. You guys want anything?"

"No, I'm good."

"No thanks."

"I'm fine."

Jack nodded and went to the kitchen. Once he was out of earshot, Corey quickly turned to the does. "Is he going to be OK?" he asked.

Judy sighed. "I think so? It might be better if we just don't bring it up."

"Yeah," the raccoon agreed.

Judy then looked at Josie. "Anyway, back to our original topic: now that you've seen Avatar, do you want to see The Legend of Korra with us?"

"Is that the sequel?" the brown bunny asked.

"Yeah."

"OK, sure," Josie agreed. "I'm down. Corey?"

"Eh," was all he said.

Judy shot him a surprised look. "You don't like The Legend of Korra?"

"I mean," Corey shrugged his shoulders. "Korra's fine, I guess. It has its moments, but compared to Avatar, it's honestly kind of weak."

"What?! Name one weak moment," Judy demanded.

"The forced love triangle," Corey deadpanned.

The doe stopped before saying, "OK, yeah, that was unnecessary, but-"

"Season one feeling like a stand-alone season instead of one giant story."

"Well, that's because they were only greenlit for one season; they weren't planning on future seasons-"

"Speaking of which, season two as a whole?"

"OK, yeah, season two kind of sucked-" Judy quickly shook her head and looked at Josie, who had an amused look on her face. "Look, it has its issues, but I'd still say there's enough good things in it to make worth-"

The sudden opening of a door interrupted her, and everyone turned to see Jack quickly walk out of the kitchen, looking angry. Behind him, they could see Nate and some of Judy's other siblings following him, looking anxious and nervous.

"Wait, Jack, wait, I didn't mean-" Nate tried to say.

He was cut off as the striped bunny left through the back door, slamming it shut on the way out, grabbing the attention of Bonnie and Stu, who were in the next room. The fifteen-year-old buck groaned as he ran his paws down his face. It was deathly quiet in the room until Judy spoke up.

"Nate, what did you do?" she asked her brother heatedly.

The older bunny nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I was talking with everyone else about what day it was today, and Jack overheard me." He then fell silent. Judy, Josie, and Corey could tell that there was more to it, though.

"What ELSE did you say?" Though the question was asked calmly, everyone could hear the venom in the gray doe's voice.

Nate shifted his feet nervously before quietly saying, "I MAY have made a joke saying that his mom didn't want him, and that she dumped her mistake on us-"

"You did WHAT."

Everyone in the room winced at Bonnie's tone, especially Nate. Before he could say anything, though, the Hopps matriarch pointed towards the kitchen.

"Kitchen. NOW."

The gray buck shut his mouth and quickly walked to the kitchen, Stu behind him. Bonnie gave a glare to everyone before following him, closing the door behind her. Once it closed, everyone began to disperse, except for the three kits.

Judy sighed. "Shit."

"Of all days, as well," Josie agreed, shaking her head.

The two girls then heard movement on their left and turned to see Corey quickly move to the back door to follow the striped bunny. Judy moved to follow him, but Josie stopped her and called out to him.

"Corey, we should give him some space."

Her words fell on deaf ears, however, as Corey ignored her and exited through the door. The two does looked at each other and sighed.

Meanwhile, Corey made his way out across the yard to Jack, who was leaning forward against the fence, his head in his arms. The buck's ears perked when he heard movement, and he sighed.

"I don't want to talk to you right now, Judy."

Corey stopped. "Well, what about me?"

The raccoon could see his friend tense up before lifting his head and turning around. Jack looked at him for a beat before turning away again. "Not now, mam; I'm not good company at the moment."

"Like that's stopped YOU before," Corey countered, crossing his arms.

'OK, fair enough,' the striped bunny thought. He exhaled and said, "Just when I thought that he was getting better, that he wasn't as bad as he was before, that I really, TRULY don't hate him…" Jack trailed off for a few seconds before finishing, "he says something like that."

"…Well," Corey started slowly, "if it's any consolation, I think your aunt and uncle are tearing him a new one right now, and he did look like he regretted saying it." Corey could barely hear the buck let out a humorless laugh before it quickly went away. "Come on, let's go back-"

"Is he right?"

The raccoon gave him a confused look. "What?"

The striped rabbit took a long breath before saying, "Did she leave because of me? That I was too much trouble to look after? That I was a mistake-"

"Stop that."

The forcefulness in Corey's voice stopped Jack, and he continued. "Don't even think that. I know for a fact that she didn't leave because of you."

"Then why?!" Jack finally turned around and looked at his friend, tears starting to form and his voice breaking. "Why did she leave?!" Corey opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. The buck continued. "She's gone, OK? I know that she's gone, and I know that she's never coming back. I've known that for years now. I just want to know WHY she left."

"…I don't know, Jack," Corey silently admitted. "Only she knows."

The striped bunny scoffed and turned away from him. "A lot of good that does ME…"

The two fell silent for what felt like forever, not daring to make a sound. Then, Corey made his way next to the bunny, and after a moment, finally spoke:

"I asked my parents if it was my fault…"

Jack turned his head to his friend. "Sorry?"

Corey sighed as he leaned forward against the fence. "I asked both of them if they were getting divorced because of me. I knew how stressful their jobs could be, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was doing nothing but just adding to that stress. Now, they've both denied it, and my grandparents say the same thing, but…" He trailed off as he sighed again. "I can't help but wonder all the same…"

"Corey, I-"

"But," the raccoon interrupted, "I also know that their issues are theirs, and that THEY made that choice, regardless if it's because of me. The situation with your mom is the same: at the end of the day, SHE made that choice to leave. Her actions are HER fault, not yours. It's her fault she's not here. And it's her loss, too."

Jack tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

The buck wasn't sure, but he swore he saw Corey's cheeks turn red as he started playing with his necklace. "Because if she had stuck around," Corey said quietly before looking at Jack in the eye, "then she would've seen how amazing you are."

Jack stared at his friend, at a loss for words but his head spinning. After a few seconds, Corey winced and turned away.

"Shit, was that too much?" he asked under his breath. "Was that too sappy?" Corey looked back at the striped bunny, saying, "I'm sorry, that probably came out as-"

His nervous ramblings were cut off when Jack suddenly grabbed him and kissed him. Corey's eyes widened in surprise before slowly closing them and leaning into the kiss. A few seconds later, Jack suddenly stiffened and broke it off, quickly turning his head away from the raccoon.

'Oh my Dog, what the fuck did I just do?!'

"I-I'm sorry, that was…I mean, I didn't ask if you wanted to, it was a bad time for it-"

"Did you mean it?"

Corey's question interrupted the buck, and after a moment, Jack slowly nodded his head.

"Yeah, I-I did."

He then felt the raccoon scoot in closer to him and take his paw, making his heart rate skyrocket. The buck turned to look at him and saw Corey wearing a warm smile. Jack smiled as the two of them just stood there against the fence, leaning into each other. After a beat of comfortable silence, Corey said, "It's really nice out tonight."

Jack nodded. "Romantic, even," he lightly joked.

Nothing was said until they slowly started chuckling, before it eventually became laughter. Corey gently pushed Jack to the side. "Dummy." That caused the striped bunny to laugh even more. "You feeling better?"

Jack nodded his head, still smiling. "Yeah, much better." He then looked at his watch and saw that it was around 8:20. "What time do you need to head out?"

"Around 9," Corey said with a shrug.

"We should probably head back inside."

"…Do you WANT to go back in?"

"…Not really, no."

The boys stayed out there for a while longer, taking in the scenery and just enjoying each other's company. The entire time, Jack was waiting for something to interrupt the moment: for it to suddenly start raining; for someone to come outside to get them; for one of their phones to suddenly go off.

Nothing.

Eventually, though, the buck did check the time again, and saw that it was ten minutes to 9:00. He sighed. "We need to go back in."

He heard Corey sigh. "OK." They then straightened themselves out, a little stiff from standing there, and started walking back to the house. As they approached the door, Corey stopped and cleared his throat.

"So, um…what are we now?"

Jack's paw rested on the doorknob, thinking about the question. Finally, he turned to his friend and said, "What do you want us to be?"

The raccoon was silent before whispering, "I kind of want to be your boyfriend."

Jack's heart fluttered at the statement, and he smiled. "Really?"

Corey nodded. "I'm not sure if I want to tell anyone else, but…I want this."

"OK. We'll keep it on the down low," the striped bunny decided. "One condition, though."

"OK, what?"

"I get to be the boyfriend," the buck joked, pointing at himself.

Corey just stared at him before laughing. "OK, deal," he said, rolling his eyes.

Jack smiled and the two walked back into the house. As they entered the living room, the buck noticed Judy and Josie sitting on the couch, the brown doe asleep. His cousin saw them enter and quickly nudged the other bunny awake.

"Hey, they're back," she whispered before standing up to greet them.

Josie let out a yawn and said, "Hey, guys."

Jack chuckled at his friend's drowsiness. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty."

That got a laugh from Judy and Corey as the brown doe stuck her tongue out at him. Judy then looked at Jack. "You alright?"

The buck quickly shot a look at the raccoon, who just smiled and nodded at him. Jack smiled and looked back at his cousin. "Yeah. Everything's fine."

"Well, that's good," Josie said, slowly standing up. She looked at her phone for the time and winced. "Jeez, it's late; my ride will be here soon."

"Yeah, I need to head out, too," Corey added.

The four kits walked to the front door, with Jack and Corey behind the does. They reached the door, and the buck turned to his friend.

"See you tomorrow?"

Corey smiled. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

With that, he and Josie left the home, leaving Jack and Judy in the entryway. The doe turned to her cousin.

"Are you really OK?" she asked.

Jack nodded his head. "Yeah, I am." He took a breath and said, "It's getting late; I'm going to bed."

"OK, see you in the morning."

The buck smiled and made his way to the stairs. On the way, he saw Nate exit the kitchen, wearing a guilty expression. His ears stood up once he saw the younger bunny.

"Hey, um, Jack-"

"Do me a favor, Nate," the striped bunny interrupted. "Don't talk to me." Before the older buck could say anything else, Jack was already walking past him and down the stairs. He passed some of Judy's siblings on the way to his room, giving him concerned looks, but he ignored them.

Finally, he reached his room. Once he entered and shut the door, the buck ran his paws down his face and let out a big sigh. The day's events ran through his head, from watching the season finale with his friends to Nate's 'joke' to him and Corey…

Jack couldn't help but grin like a madmammal when he thought about the raccoon. The thought of being in a relationship with him was scary as much as it was exhilarating.

'Is that normal?' he thought to himself as he changed into his pajamas. He tried to think back to what Judy's siblings had said about relationships, but the buck was drawing a blank.

Jack shrugged as he turned out the light and went to bed. As long as he and Corey were trying, they'd figure it out. As he closed his eyes, one last thought ran through his head:

'I kissed Corey Atkinson. He's my boyfriend now.'

The buck fell asleep with a smile on his face.