"You know I don't care that you didn't tell me the truth. But why would you defend someone who hurt you?"

I licked at my broken tusk. "It was my fault to begin with. I distracted him from studying, so he didn't do well on one of his tests. He didn't get a lot of money thanks to me."

"That's BS, and you know it, dude."

"Huh?" I looked at Sani with surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Your bro's always studying. With as much as he studies, it can't be your fault. A couple of days worth of studying isn't going to make or break him. He probably blamed you just so he didn't have to blame himself."

"But..." Sani gave me a serious look, and I splayed my ears. I twisted my beanie between my fingers, and felt drops of water fall into my lap.

The otter moved behind me, wrapping his arms around me. "We've been friends for a really long time. I'm comfortable around you when I'm not around anyone else. I don't want to see you getting hurt by some jerk, even if he's your brother. I don't know what you've been doing, but I know you're not gonna tell me everything. That's okay, but if you have to be so secretive, don't you think maybe you shouldn't do it at all?"

"Sani..." I didn't want to admit that he was right. It hurt, it really did. Even with Benjamin apologizing to me, he still hadn't come clean with Mom or Dad about hitting me. I didn't want to be mad at him, but I tried really hard to make up for my mistake, and all it got me was a broken heart and a really sore bottom. "I... I gotta think about it...."

Sani nipped at my ear. His sharp little teeth sent shivers down my spine, and only after a moment, I realized my tongue was hanging out. He lapped at the spot with his tongue before whispering into my ear, "Like I said, other people like you, too. You don't have to be afraid."

I leaned back against him, comfortable, that song playing in my mind again. Every verse seemed just right.

"Madness..."

---

It's not often that a scene sticks in my mind to the extent that I just have to see it drawn on paper. I just had to get   wagnermutt to bring this to life, and he did a fantastic job, despite some setbacks ;x But I'm just so enthralled by this... it's beautiful~ I wrote this chapter while listening to Muse x3

Oops, I forgot to link to the story x3

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9715857/

Chapter 1

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7485293/