I wasn't used to having a plaster cast on my leg. I had had one on my hand when I was younger and had bone fracture in my finger. But it was nothing compared to broken knee. Aside from everything else, I was also afraid of going to school, but it soon turned out to be much easier than I had thought. Mum got me a crutch, which helped a little, too. I only wasn't ready for all the questions bombarded at me.

Still, I was glad to see Nicole, all okay and full of energy, as always. Not even once did she mention what had happened yesterday. And no signs of jealousy, either. But as I became more concerned of what Jake might have done to her mind, I finally mentioned it myself.

"How do you feel? About yesterday, I mean. When you..."

"My head didn't hurt much after. Which I think is a little weird, reckoning that I actually lost my conscious."

I stared at her, trying to figure out what she was pointing at.

"Don't you think it was weird? I stumble and fall, lose my consciousness, and a little after that, you fall and broke your leg. You know what? We're like true best-friends-soulmates." She grinned, despite the fact the situation was way more serious.

But I understood now what Jake had done. He'd made Nicole forget about what truly happened, given her this thought instead. Even though I wasn't okay with her mind being meddled with like this, I decided to play along.

"At least you're okay now," I said. "But I also wanted to say that... I'm sorry for me and Jake lately being... You know..."

Nicole smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry about that. Jake has never showed any interest in me anyway."

Some part of me had actually known he'd do something like that. So, Nicole wasn't interested in him anymore? But when I thought about it now, as much as I hated Jake playing with my best friend's mind, I had to agree it might be for the best. I seriously didn't want Nicole trying to get close to him. I just hoped that this is all he did to her, nothing else.

"Besides, you two are so cute together." As she said this, she smiled widely and friskily. I just stared at her. Did Jake put that thought in her mind, too?

Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. "Did you... you know... kiss?"

I wanted to groan. "No."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for showing up, then. I'm sure you'd have gotten that far."

"Nicole..."

But as the teacher stepped into the classroom, our chat was cut short. Instead I noticed that the chair before our desk was still empty. Rudy wasn't at school. And he didn't arrive any time during the lesson, either.

"Do you know where Rudy might be?" I asked Nicole after the lesson, as we entered the next classroom.

She thought about it. "No, I have no idea. Though, I'm sure you've noticed how he's somehow... distant, lately. He doesn't chat a lot anyway, but still. It's weird."

I wondered if that distantness was somehow connected to him being a savannian. Though, he didn't always act as he does now. It all began just lately.

"Oh, here he comes," Nicole exclaimed suddenly, bringing me back from my thoughts. I rose my head towards the door. Rudy looked at me shortly, but then his gaze fixated on my knee.

"What happened?" he asked, as he took a seat behind his desk.

"I fell," was my simple answer. Then I turned my head to look out the window, as if I suddenly saw something incredibly interesting about the cloudy sky.

Nicole exchanged looks between me and him, seeming a little confused. Rudy had turned away from me, too, as if I wasn't even here anymore. "Has something happened that I don't know about?"

"Nothing special," Rudy replied, sounding surprisingly casual, if not nonchalant. I couldn't stop myself from snorting at it, but I didn't say anything, only kept my eyes on the window.

"You've got in quarrel?" Nicole asked in astonishment. "How?"

"It's not important," I said, giving her a look which told not to ask about it again. Luckily she didn't, but I had no idea for how long. I knew she wanted answers. During the lesson she kept looking at me, at Rudy, then at me again and so on.

I felt guilty for not being able to tell her the truth. I didn't want to lie to her, but it was inevitable. All I could do was to hope she wouldn't go too far with her questions. Nicole knew it had to be something big to get me mad at Rudy. None of us three had ever been in a quarrel.

I had to talk with Rudy. A part of me hoped that he would come to me, but he didn't. And in the cafeteria, he didn't sit in our table either. I remembered yesterday, after the incident, how I demanded what was going on. It was either that, or the fact he didn't want any humans to know his true identity why he was staying away now. As we were alone, Nicole tried again to understand what had happened, but I didn't tell her anything. Then she tried to talk to Rudy, but he was always brusque with his answer, rather evasive.

Then the last lesson for today ended, time to go home. I knew that if I wanted to talk to him today, I had to do it now. So I left the classroom, following him down the hall but keeping a distance, until we reached the stairs and were away from the crowd. There I called his name.

"Rudy, wait!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at me.

"You didn't give much explanation yesterday," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What do you want to know?"

"Maybe... if you were going to keep it a secret for ever?"

"If it were possible, yes."

I felt anger slightly rise inside me. He sounded as if there was nothing wrong with it. As if he weren't sorry. "But why?"

"I couldn't tell you." There were no emotions.

"We've been best friends since so long..." I found my voice rising drastically and I stopped, fearing to yell at him.

He eyed me for a second. Then, "Sorry," his voice still clean of any emotion. With that, he turned away from me and walked down the stairs.

A little shocked by his acting, I just stood there, watching him go. "Rudy?" I finally called out. "Where are you going?" But he ignored me, and soon he was out of my sight.

* * *

For a long time I simply lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Tomorrow I had to talk to Rudy, again. I couldn't leave it like that, no matter how mad I was at him. It could be that there is no evil in him. But I hated how he kept it a secret like this. All those years. And how he turned his back on me at school.

Mum was still at work, which meant I was home alone. Tired of thinking the same things all over and over again, I took a random book from a shelf in my room, then exited the house by the back door where I sat down on the patio. I needed something to distract myself.

I rose my head as I heard noises from the woods behind our house. Something was there. Then, that something stepped into my sight. For some reason I calmed down immediately when I saw it was a jaguar. I knew I should be wary, should get back inside. But strangely I felt nothing close to fear. I thought it was weird, especially as I remembered how angry I'd been at Jake the last time we saw each other. At least I was sure it was him and not one of his friends. In some unexplained way, I recognized Jake easily.

He slowly sauntered towards me, keeping his head low, as if he were tired. I glanced at the neighbours' house, which luckily was separated from our lot by high trees. But still, I was worried if anyone should see him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, putting the book down next to me. I wasn't expecting him to answer - after all, he was a jaguar. Instead he sat down right in front of me, so close that if I reached out my hand, I could touch him. Once there, silence fell between us and he just looked me into eyes.

"I'm having hard time understanding you," I said, crossing my arms.

Jake tilted his head, doing something with his mouth that I think was a smile.

"Someone could see you..."

Before I could stop, he stood from his post and stepped even closer, the top of his head softly coming in impact with my shoulder, as a domesticated cat would do if they looked for attention. But still I had to support myself, so he wouldn't topple me over. Then he hovered above me, staring at me. I tried to push him away but he wouldn't move, but rather seemed to be amused by my feeble tries.

"Okay, Jake, what do you want?" I asked, acknowledging that I can't get him away with force. But as I asked this, he rubbed his cheek against my face. I couldn't help but laugh at how cat-like he acted. "I'm sure you can be more human," I said, again trying to get him step back.

I felt his tongue run across my neck.

"Jake," I breathed, covering my skin with my hands. "I'd really prefer if you talked to me, not do this."

He pulled back, but only a little, still looking like he's smirking. As if by itself, my hand reached his fur, my fingers beginning to scratch the behind of his ear. He seemed to like it, because he pulled back a little more, but only to lay his head on my lap, careful not to hurt my broken leg.

"It's... a little weird for me," I muttered. "I haven't actually been with a human-jaguar like... this."

Jake opened his eyes - that he had closed - and stared at me. I stroked the fur on his head and scruff, before pulling my hand back. The fur was silky and much softer than I'd thought.

"Now, did you come here for a reason? I know you can change form or whatever."

He breathed out, but stood up and took a few steps back. It took him only a second to be the human Jake I knew - it went so fast I didn't even completely understand the process. After that he came to sit down next to me.

"So, are we okay now? I know you didn't want to see me yesterday." He tried to hide the smile that still lingered on his lips.

"You came here to make up with me?" He looked at me as if waiting for my answer. "I'll think about it," I said, wondering if I really meant it. I mean, I should hate him. And not only because of yesterday.

As if sensing my thoughts, he said, "I also wanted to apologize for what I did. Actually, I was simply curious. I wanted to see if you really hated me."

"Just promise me you wont get in my head again."

"I promise," he said, not hiding his smile anymore. The next moment I felt his arm around my shoulders. For whatever reason, I didn't push him away.

After a few moments of silence, the curiosity got the best of me. "Jake... can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Where do your clothes go when you change forms?"

He chuckled at my question. Probably he was expecting something else. "It has to do with souls and stuff like that. It's a long explanation."

I found myself believing him that he won't play with my mind anymore. I felt no threat at the moment. But did I really want this? Be here like this with him, so close?