I finally had some time to work on this story that I've been fiddling with here and there for a couple months. I like it for the most part, though I wish I had added some more dialogue/character development but that's okay. It should be noted that yes, Vincent has low self esteem and is self conscious about his weight. No need to leave me comments about how he should just accept himself and being fat is okay, haha. I know that, it's a story. :) Vincent will learn to accept himself and be comfortable in his body when he's older, but this is how I see him as a teen. I'm in no rush for my little skunk to grow up. ^_^

I drew some sketches of different moments from the story, I wish I had time to do some color drawings, but I have SO MUCH work to do this week. Plus a convention this weekend. Anyway, I hope you like it! I plan to do more sketches and stories for Vincent when I come up with ideas.

If you like my art and comics, please support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Jaymz


Episode 3

You Put My Head in Such a Flurry

It was only 6PM and Vincent was already in bed with his pajamas on. But it was Friday, and he'd vowed after the completely unreasonable onslaught of tests he'd had to endure that week, he would do absolutely nothing all weekend long. Plus, his jeans had been riding a little snug these days... he considered it was either time to go up a size or start yet another diet... he wasn't looking forward to that. Pajamas were a comfy, albeit temporary solution to his woes.

His phone chirped, Vincent rolled onto his stomach and slid his thumb across the screen. A message from Ben read “Not planning to do much this weekend either. I'm beat. Speaking of which, I should probably go to bed... it's pretty late here.”

Vincent looked up at the ceiling as he tried to do the math, it was something like 1 or 2 AM in London, right? He rolled onto his back and let out a sigh, dropping the phone onto his bed.

“What're you sighing about?” Maddie asked as she brushed past his bedroom door, returning from the bathroom now in her own pajamas because King Vincent had demanded a pajama party.

“Ben Hopper.” Vincent said longingly.

“What else?” Maddie rolled her eyes with a smile. She pushed him aside and slid into the bed beside him. “What'd he do this time?”

“It's not what he did...” Vincent said, turning onto his side to face Maddie. “It's what he doesn't do. When he left... he told me that he thought I was cute, and we've been texting for like five months but... he hasn't even flirted with me...”

“Have you tried flirting with him?” Maddie asked. She could already see the blush forming on Vincent's cheeks as he now refused to look her in the eye.

“No... I thought... he would be the one to make a move. But his texts are always... painfully short. I'm starting to think, like... maybe he did like me... but it was just a passing thing. Maybe he met someone else in London and changed his mind.”

Maddie ran her fingers through Vincent's hair which made him close his eyes... he loved it when she did that. “Look, Vin... I don't know Ben that well... but I've had a few classes with him, he's really not that much of a talker... he's a nice guy and all, but he's not exactly deep.”

“Are you saying you think he's dumb?” Vincent's yellow eyes peered up at her through his white hair. “Because I can work with dumb, I really can..”

Maddie let out a laugh “No, I don't think he's dumb... maybe he just doesn't know what to say. I mean, it must be weird to like, admit you have a crush on someone and then immediately leave for six months. Texting is nice.. but it's not the same as actually going out on a date with someone and really getting to know them. Yeah, it's possible he met someone else or his little crush was fleeting... but it's also possible he's just biding his time until he gets back.”

“I guess we'll know in three weeks.” Vincent said with a sigh. His phone chirped again and he grabbed it with anticipation, but it was just a message from Ethan this time “E's runnin' late... he said we should get started without him.”

Maddie leaned over the edge of the bed and pulled her bag up off the floor. She took out a tupperware container and handed it to Vincent, then dumped several DVD's out on the bed. Vincent opened the container to find it full of cookies and chocolates that Maddie had made. They smelled heavenly, and his stomach let out a soft growl. “I... probably shouldn't eat too much of these if I want to be hot and thin by the time Ben gets back...” He said.

“Please...” Maddie said “I get the impression Ben actually likes his boys a little... thick.” She gave Vincent's cheek a light pinch, he wasn't sure if he should feel insulted. She hopped up off the bed holding a dvd and made her way to Vincent's tv.

“You... really think he likes chubby guys?” Vincent asked, rubbing his cheek.

Maddie pressed a disc into the slot on the Playstation. “Who doesn't?” She smiled.

“Everyone in our class...” He muttered, fluffing up his pillows before leaning back, trying his best to push all thoughts of tall, handsome rabbits out of his mind. He was going to enjoy the next three weeks, no matter what.


*Slightly longer than three weeks later...

Vincent sat in study hall fighting the urge to look at his phone. Ethan was busy at the desk beside him studying like it was actually a fun thing to do. Rumors were spreading that Ben Hopper had returned from London... but he'd gotten no reply to his “Hey, heard you were back in town!” text. Vincent tapped his painted black nails on the desk... well what was left of the ones he hadn't bitten down to nubs. The bell finally rang signaling the end of another school day. 'Thank God.'

He walked with Ethan to the bus where they parted ways, Vincent's house wasn't that far from the school and he felt like walking today.

He buried his cell phone deep in his back pocket, he didn't want to think about it anymore... the sinking feeling of a broken heart was something Vincent had gotten used to. “Why do I still get my hopes up?” He wondered aloud. Students rushed past him as he made his way across the school lawn and to the sidewalk. He watched his shadow grow out beside him as he walked. Another shadow joined his, he stepped to the side to allow the person to pass, but instead felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned 'round to see the silhouette of a cap and rabbit ears blocking the sun.

“Hey, Vincent.” Ben said casually, matching the tone of his blue eyes which always looked as if he had no cares in the world.

Vincent stopped in his tracks, suddenly very aware of his own physical characteristics. “I texted you.” Was all he could think of to say.

“Yeah?” Ben still hadn't taken his hand off Vincent's shoulder, a fact that Vincent had not overlooked. “My phone was pretty damn dead by the time we got back into town, so I left it home to charge.”

“Oh.” Vincent suddenly had a strong urge to run.

“So... uh... do you wanna like... hang out this Saturday?”

“Hang out?” Vincent asked 'What does that even mean?' he thought.

“Yeah, we can like... catch up.” Ben shot Vincent a smirk that almost knocked him out of his sneakers.

“Okay... how about like... eight?” Vincent said, amazed that he was still able to stand and speak.

“Sounds good.” Ben turned and jogged off calling out over his shoulder “Nice seeing you again!”

On Saturday, Vincent stood in front of his mirror in probably the tenth outfit he'd tried on. All of his clothes just looked too... old and worn, or didn't fit right. He adjusted his belt again, he made sure he had the perfect amount of chest fur poking out of his v neck... again. He fiddled with a couple of little black bracelets he'd put on his wrist... again.

“Whatever happened to that jacket you got last winter? The one with the hood and the plaid liner?” Maddie asked from his bed. Vincent disappeared into his closet and emerged again wearing the jacket she'd described. “Awww....You look so a-dorable!” She cooed.

“I don't know why I'm freaking out over this... he already knows what I look like... and anyway... he just wants to” he lifted his fingers up to perform air quotes “hang out, whatever that means...he probably just wants to tell me all about all the hot boys he met in London. Oh, what good friends we are Vincent! I can tell you anything!”

Maddie couldn't help but laugh at Vincent's horrible impersonation of Ben Hopper. Ethan just shook his head. “Seriously!” Vincent said with a squeak “What if it's not a date?”

“Then it's not.” Ethan shrugged. “Just go out and have fun like you would with me or Maddie. It's not that big a deal.”

Vincent buried his face in his hands. Obviously his friends were not grasping the severity of this situation.

“Plus you look so cute!” Maddie exclaimed. “If it isn't a date, it's going to turn into one when he sees you tonight.” She picked up one of Vincent's cotton hats from his dresser. “Here...” She said pulling it over the back of his head. She fit his ears through the holes in the sides and brushed through his bangs with her fingers. “It's supposed to be pretty chilly tonight.” She turned him toward the mirror and gave him a hug from behind. “It's almost eight, so me n' E are gonna take off and leave you to it. Good luck, Vin.” She planted a kiss on the side of his face before leaving with Ethan.

Vincent paced around the room for the next thirty minutes. His stomach threatening to leap out of his body every time he saw a pair of headlights coming down his street. He went back to the mirror, adjusting the hat Maddie had put on him. Zipping and unzipping his jacket, unable to decide which way to wear it. “Vincent, your friend Ben is here!” the sudden sound of his mother's voice made him jump.

“B-be right down!” He called out. “Jeez... calm down, Vin...” He took a moment to breathe deeply before he exited his room.

Ben was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. He was dressed in a form fitting jacket and jeans. He wasn't wearing his signature baseball cap... it was the first time Vincent could recall ever seeing him without it. He could see from the top of the stairs that Ben had a full head of hair, there went all theories that maybe male pattern baldness was to blame for why he was always wearing a hat. Vincent descended the stairs and stood awkwardly beside Ben, suddenly feeling microscopic “I'll be back later mom.”

His mother waved them away “Have a fun night, boys.” She said.

Vincent closed the door behind them, the night air cooler than he was expecting, he gave a timid smile thinking of Maddie always looking out for him. “So... um... where did you want to go... hang out?” Vincent asked, unable to make eye contact.

Ben lead the way to his car parked by the curb. “Movie and ice cream sound good?” He asked pressing the button on his key fob and the doors unlocked with a 'ka-chunk!'.

“Yeah... okay.” Vincent slid into the passenger's seat while Ben went around to the driver's side. Vincent couldn't help but notice how far back Ben had to set his seat... this rabbit had some unbelievably long legs. He watched as Ben's hands shifted the gears of the car. “You drive stick...”

“Yeah, that's what I learned on, I just... really like it.” Ben said, pushing the shifter into another position.

'Ugh... He even has cute knuckles' the skunk thought, he cleared his throat “I don't even have my license yet.”

“I can teach you sometime, if you'd like.” Ben said, glancing over ever so quickly as to not take his eyes off the road too long.

“Sure, that'd be cool.” Vincent ran a hand over his belly, his nerves were a jumbled mess and he hoped the rumble he felt in his stomach wasn't audible. “So, how was London?”

“So awesome, me n' my dad basically went to every tourist attraction we could find...” Ben said with a laugh. “ But we ran outta those pretty early on. We ended up hiking the countryside a lot, it's really gorgeous there. But I had to keep up with school too, took a few small classes and met some really cool people.”

“Oh... so... you made friends there?”

“Sure, and my dad said we might go again next year, maybe not for that long like just a few weeks or somethin'. Have you ever been to Europe?”

Vincent shook his head “I've never really been anywhere but here.”

Ben smirked. “Did'ja do anything fun the past six months?”

Vincent let out a soft chuckle and looked at the floor of the car. “No.... I mean... school, movie marathons with Ethan and Maddie, you know... boring stuff.”

“Sounds fun to me.”

'I sound like such an idiot.' Vincent thought. 'This date is a disaster already.'

Vincent followed Ben up to the movie ticket counter, almost hypnotized by the rabbit's perfect little bunny tail. He pulled his own tail around his side noting the size of it... sure it wasn't as big as Maddie's, but it was pretty large. He released it quickly as Ben turned around to hand him his ticket. Vincent looked up at Ben's face as they were making their way into the theater lobby when he suddenly ran into a trash can. Using his unbelievably fast reflexes, Ben caught Vincent under the arms right before his butt was to hit the theater carpet.

All heads in the fairly crowded lobby turned to look at them as Ben heaved Vincent up off the floor. Vincent waited for Ben to start making fun of him, for everyone to start laughing, but the people just went back to waiting in line or for their friends and Ben simply said “You want some snacks?”

'I always want snacks...' Vincent thought. “Just... some soda... I mean, only if you're already getting something...” Vincent pulled his wallet out of his pocket but Ben waved it away. He wandered alone to the refreshments counter and Vincent took the opportunity to send a group text to Ethan and Maddie. “I fell over a trash can!”

“That's hot.” Maddie replied.

“Smooth.” Ethan added. “Have you figured out if it's a date yet?”

“He paid for our tix... he's paying for drinks now... still not sure. Only time he's made physical contact was when he lifted my fat ass off the floor...”

“Sounds like a date to me.” Maddie said.

“His bunny butt is so cute... if nothing comes of this, at least I get to stare at it while he's waiting in line.”

Ethan sent an animated emoji rolling it's eyes.

“He's coming back over, ttyl!” Vincent quickly slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Heh... just my mom makin' sure I don't stay out too late...” Vincent lied, then wondered why he did so. Ben handed him a soda that was possibly the same size as his head. As they walked to the theater Ben placed a hand on the small on Vincent's back. This sent chills up his spine and he hoped the fur on his tail wasn't noticeably standing up. 'Eee... he's touching my back.... OMG, he's touching my back!'

The movie was a classic that Vincent had seen several times, which was good because he wasn't paying that much attention to it. Rather his attention was occupied by Ben's wandering hand. Sometimes it found it's way to Vincent's knee, other times it slid along the back of Vincent's seat, it seemed unsure where it should land or stay. Sometimes Ben's other hand made an appearance, offering Vincent candy from the boxes Ben had bought, he accepted them, daintily eating the pieces one by one from his palm... when at home he would've just poured the candy into his mouth like a savage.

Vincent kept his own hands to himself, far too nervous to make a move. 'This has to be a date... it has to be.' He thought. He peered at Ben out of the corner of his eye. Ben's attention was fixed on the screen. He was still wearing his signature smirk. 'But what would he see in me? He's so perfect... and tall and fit... jeez.' Vincent tried to make more of an effort to suck his belly in. Ben casually sipped from his soda cup, unaware that he was being ogled.

When the movie ended, Vincent was sure to be on the lookout for any trash cans that might jump out at him like earlier, but he was steady on his feet and managed not to make an ass out of himself before making it out to the parking lot. The two boys stood outside the theater for a moment while Vincent readjusted his cap. Ben smiled down at him.

“What?” Vincent asked.

“Nothing... you just...” Ben cleared his throat. “You have nice hair... is all.”

Vincent's eyes crossed as he peered up at the lock of white hair sweeping across his forehead. “Thanks... you... have a cute butt!”

Ben stood solo in front of the theater, he'd previously had no idea his skunk companion could run so fast, but Vincent was now already across the parking lot standing beside the car with his face in his hands. Ben made his way over there twirling his keys on one finger. Vincent's cheeks were noticeably flush when Ben joined him beside the car.

“You should consider joining the track team, speedy.” Ben said with a laugh.

“I'm so sorry I said you have a cute butt! I don't know why I just blurted that out and I shouldn't be objectifying you and I don't even know if this is a date--”

“Did you... not want this to be a date?” Ben asked, the smirk disappearing from his face for the first time that night.

“I...” Vincent started “Oh my God... I'm like totally blowing this aren't I?” He rubbed a hand on his forehead. “We can just... go home if you want.”

“I kinda had my heart set on ice cream.” Ben pressed his thumb on his key fob and the car doors unlocked.

The two didn't talk on the way to the ice cream stand. Once Ben had parked and they both exited the car he asked what Vincent would like, “Whatever you're getting is good... I'm not picky.” He said. Ben disappeared inside and Vincent leaned against the hood of Ben's car. He let out an unbelievably long sigh and looked around at the other teens gathered around the ice cream stand. Some of the couples sat inside their cars laughing and talking, their faces obscured slightly from the neon reflection of the ice cream sign blazing across their windshield. Others were seated at the wooden picnic tables around the back. A murmur of conversation mixed with the sounds of the small selection of arcade games at the stand, the revving of engines and occasional horn honk or friends calling out to one another. Vincent thought about how his mother and father used to take him to this place and sometimes they'd give him a quarter to ride the glittery blue parrot ride inside. Only one or two weekends remained before the weather would turn too cold and the stand would close for the season.

Ben came around the corner holding a cup in each hand. “They're both chocolate and vanilla swirl...” he said “this one's got rainbow sprinkles, this one's got cherry shell.”

Vincent reached for the sprinkles. “Thanks.”

Ben plopped down on the hood beside him and used his plastic spoon to break off a piece of the cherry shell. A car full of other high schoolers pulled up beside them and rushed past them to the ice cream counter. “I know we go to school with these people..” Ben paused to lick some ice cream off his spoon “but I don't feel like I really know any of them, ya know?”

“Tell me about it...” Vincent said “My social circle extends to just Maddie and Ethan...”

“That Maddie... she's a real firecracker.”

Vincent snorted then quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment.

“What?” Ben asked, scraping the last of his ice cream from the bowl.

“Sorry... that was just such an... old man expression... firecracker.” He laughed.

Ben stood up and took Vincent's empty bowl and walked them over to the trash can. “Well, she is...” He said. “When I transferred to your school... she was blocking my locker... practicing being a one woman soccer team, I think. I was looking at her... trying to figure out how I could get her to move, but I think she thought I was like... checking her out and she says 'What're you lookin' at long ears?'”

“Heh... that sounds like Maddie.” Vincent said.

“Then she punted the ball in my direction, but it rolled past me and got tangled up in your feet as you were walking over... you fell down and your canvas slid across the hall... do you remember that?”

“OMG... I do remember that... You picked up my canvas but I was too embarrassed to look at you... I didn't realize that was you...”

“That was the first time I saw you. I wish I had tried talking to you back then... but I didn't know what to say. Pretty dumb, huh?”

Vincent smiled and stood up to meet him. “So... you do like me?”

“I thought that was obvious.” Ben smirked.

Ben wrapped his arms around Vincent and placed both hands on his lower back and pulled him close. Vincent's belly pressed against Ben's abdomen and he could feel through their jackets the hard muscles underneath. 'Ugh...' Vincent thought 'If I can feel his muscles... he must be able to feel how fat I am...' He gazed up to meet Ben's eyes. If Ben was thinking anything unpleasant about Vincent, it certainly wasn't showing on his face.

“We kinda... fit together like puzzle pieces.” Ben laughed “Sorry, I know how corny that sounds.”

Vincent suddenly reached up and grabbed Ben's face, pulling him down, locking their lips together... half expecting to feel Ben pull away... but he didn't. He leaned further into Vincent's face; their tongues dancing together like they'd done this many times before. But this was the first time for Vincent. He'd never been lucky in love... he hoped his eagerness wasn't too obvious as he ran his hands through Ben's soft hair and around his long ears. Ben's mouth still tasted like ice cream... his body emitting just a subtle amount of cologne. 'This feels amazing... I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am....' Vincent thought 'Please, please be enjoying this!'

Ben's hands moved up and downVincent's back until one reached the back of his head, he left it there, indicating he didn't want their make out session to end anytime soon. Vincent felt Ben's other hand wander around the side of his body, his hand slipped under Vincent's shirt and ran over his soft sides, it occurred to Vincent that maybe Maddie was right... Ben liked chubby guys. 'That works for me...' Vincent thought.

Vincent felt like he was floating as he walked to his front door that night. He turned back to look at Ben who waved at him from the car, his smirk now a full on grin. Vincent watched him pull away and drive down the street. He pulled the collar of his coat in as a breeze blew some leaves past him. He pushed his key into the door lock. His mother had left a light on for him, but his parents were already in bed. He clicked the lamp off before heading up the stairs. He peeled off his date clothes, noticing they still held a bit of the scent of Ben's cologne on them. He pulled his pajamas on and flopped into his bed and sighed with a smile. He couldn't wait to tell Maddie and Ethan all about it in the morning.